Tuberculosis, epidemiology and control

Tuberculosis is a widespread disease. The infection is due to mycobacterium bovis and other mycobacteria according the different animal species. And the countries The resistance, the virulence and slow growth of the mycobacteria are correlated with the composition of the cell wall. The epidemiology of tuberculosis studies the interaction between the mycobacterium and numerous domestic and wild animal species in their environments. In Italy, livestock assets are variously distributed throughout the country. Sheep and goats are mostly found in the South and on the Island, pigs and cattle are concentrated in Central and Northern Italy. In Italy, as in other European countries, the disease in cattle, is monitored by skin test and inspection during slaughtering. Even though there are more cattle in Northern Italy, the incidence of tuberculosis is lower than in Southern Italy. No preventive method is used to diagnose tuberculosis in pigs, sheep and goats, so it in only reported during slaughtering With regards to wild animal, Tuberculosis affects the wild boars in Italy and other countries. The wild boar, more than functioning as a mycobacterium reservoir, may be a marker of infection in the environment and, consequently, of the level of the disease in cattle. About a diagnosis of tuberculosis, four the eight weeks are required to isolate Mycobacterium and give a definite diagnostic responce. Many laboratories use selective media to recover Mycobacterium. The radiometric method (Bactec) that contains 14 carvonium-labeled palmitic acid and detects the growth of mycobacteria on the basis of their metabolic release of radio-lebeled carbon dioxide from this fatty acid, guarantees the isolation of mycobacterium in less than 3 weeks. The combination of radiometric culture and dna probe provides aprecise identification of the responsible strain within a few hours after isolation. There has been considerable interest in recent years in the potential use of molecular biology techniques to improve the diahnosis of tuberculosis. The development of these methods has revolutionized the rapid and sensitive identification of several pathogens without the need of culture. The continuous control and development of standardized methods, in the laboratory and in the field, with the introduction of molecular biology techniques, could improve diagnosis and eradication of the disease