{"id":2781,"date":"2025-11-28T08:07:47","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T08:07:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innotub.eu\/?p=2781"},"modified":"2025-11-28T08:07:48","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T08:07:48","slug":"residual-infection-a-key-factor-in-the-persistence-of-bovine-tuberculosis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/innotub.eu\/en\/residual-infection-a-key-factor-in-the-persistence-of-bovine-tuberculosis\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cResidual infection\u201d: a key factor in the persistence of bovine tuberculosis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A recent study by IRTA-CReSA, in collaboration with the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food (DARPA), investigated two recurrent outbreaks of bovine tuberculosis in the same area of Catalonia, nine years apart: the first between 2009 and 2012 and the second between 2021 and 2022. In total, five cattle herds and at least two wild boars were affected, and all herds had to be completely culled\u2014what is known as a sanitary emptying\u2014at some point in the disease eradication process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bovine tuberculosis, mainly caused by Mycobacterium bovis, is a chronic infectious disease that can affect both animals and humans. In Catalonia, its incidence is very low and in 2023 the region achieved officially bovine tuberculosis\u2013free status. Nevertheless, occasional sporadic outbreaks are still detected, which may be related to the persistence of the bacterium within herds or its transmission from other species such as wild boar or goats. This complexity, involving several hosts and a slowly progressing infection, makes complete eradication a truly challenging goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>A case of \u201csilent\u201d infection<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Through whole-genome sequencing of M. bovis isolates and epidemiological analysis of the outbreaks, the study identified a long-term residual infection within a cattle herd that had acted as a bridge between the two outbreaks and also as a source of transmission to wild boar (with a very low prevalence, around 2% of the animals analysed).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The so-called residual infection refers to the continued presence of infected animals that are not detected by routine diagnostic methods. It is an umbrella term that includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Infected non-reactor animals, often in early or latent stages of infection, or immunosuppressed.<\/li><li>Infected animals that are misdiagnosed, due to factors such as incorrect timing of the test, failure to test the entire herd, or the inherent limitations of diagnostic tests\u2014particularly the tuberculin test.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3>Why is detecting them important?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Residual infection is a major obstacle to disease eradication, as the bacterium can persist and circulate within a herd without being detected in time, causing new outbreaks\u2014even years later. This study highlights the importance of conducting thorough epidemiological investigations in recurrent tuberculosis cases, in order to detect weaknesses in control measures and better understand how infection is maintained and transmitted. In this regard, genomic surveillance using high-throughput sequencing technologies is a valuable tool for understanding transmission chains and improving risk assessments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Overall, with the aim of reducing the likelihood of recurrence of this persistent infection, the study emphasises the need to apply risk-based surveillance strategies, including measures such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Increasing the frequency of diagnostic testing,<\/li><li>Replacing older animals more quickly, or<\/li><li>Applying complete depopulation of the herd when necessary.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This study has been published in English in open access in the journal <em data-start=\"3264\" data-end=\"3301\">Transboundary and Emerging Diseases<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Bernat P\u00e9rez de Val, Mariano Domingo, Alberto Allepuz, Carles Riera, Albert Sanz, Miquel Nofrar\u00edas, Sergio L\u00f3pez-Soria, Enric Vidal. <em data-start=\"3440\" data-end=\"3590\">Long-Term Residual Infection as a Source of Bovine Tuberculosis Reemergence: A Phylogenetic and Epidemiological Investigation of Recurrent Outbreaks<\/em>, Transboundary and Emerging Diseases, 2025. <a class=\"decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1155\/tbed\/2446811\" target=\"_new\" rel=\"noopener\" data-start=\"3635\" data-end=\"3671\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1155\/tbed\/2446811<\/a>.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The work was funded by the INNOTUB II \u2013 EFA115\/04 project of the Interreg POCTEFA 2021\u20132027 programme and by the DARPA\u2019s service agreement with IRTA-CReSA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A recent study by IRTA-CReSA, in collaboration with the Autonomous University of...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2791,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[58],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v18.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>\u201cResidual infection\u201d: a key factor in the persistence of bovine tuberculosis &raquo; Innotub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/innotub.eu\/en\/residual-infection-a-key-factor-in-the-persistence-of-bovine-tuberculosis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u201cResidual infection\u201d: a key factor in the persistence of bovine tuberculosis &raquo; Innotub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A recent study by IRTA-CReSA, in collaboration with the Autonomous University of...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/innotub.eu\/en\/residual-infection-a-key-factor-in-the-persistence-of-bovine-tuberculosis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Innotub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-28T08:07:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-28T08:07:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/innotub.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/biosegcattle.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2048\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1536\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@innotub\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@innotub\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Innotub\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/innotub.eu\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Innotub\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/innotub.eu\/\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/innotub\"],\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/innotub.eu\/#logo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/innotub.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/innotub-logo-COLOR.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/innotub.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/innotub-logo-COLOR.png\",\"width\":7453,\"height\":1672,\"caption\":\"Innotub\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/innotub.eu\/#logo\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/innotub.eu\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/innotub.eu\/\",\"name\":\"Innotub\",\"description\":\"Crear una xarxa cient\u00edfica d&#039;excel\u00b7l\u00e8ncia\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/innotub.eu\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/innotub.eu\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/innotub.eu\/en\/residual-infection-a-key-factor-in-the-persistence-of-bovine-tuberculosis\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/innotub.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/biosegcattle.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/innotub.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/biosegcattle.jpg\",\"width\":2048,\"height\":1536},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/innotub.eu\/en\/residual-infection-a-key-factor-in-the-persistence-of-bovine-tuberculosis\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/innotub.eu\/en\/residual-infection-a-key-factor-in-the-persistence-of-bovine-tuberculosis\/\",\"name\":\"\u201cResidual infection\u201d: a key factor in the persistence of bovine tuberculosis &raquo; 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