The Eradication of M. Caprae Tuberculosis in Wild Boar (Sus Scrofa) in the Bieszczady Mountains, Southern Poland - An Administrative Perspective

Mirosław Welz; Monika Krajewska-Wędzina; Blanka Orłowska; Anna Didkowska; Łukasz Radulski; Przemysław Łoś; Marcin Weiner; Krzysztof Anusz

doi:10.2478/jvetres-2023-0006

The Eradication of M. Caprae Tuberculosis in Wild Boar (Sus Scrofa) in the Bieszczady Mountains, Southern Poland - An Administrative Perspective

J Vet Res. 2023 Feb 28;67(1):61-66. doi: 10.2478/jvetres-2023-0006. eCollection 2023 Mar.

Authors

Mirosław Welz¹, Monika Krajewska-Wędzina^{2

3}, Blanka Orłowska⁴, Anna Didkowska⁴, Łukasz Radulski², Przemysław Łoś⁵, Marcin Weiner⁶, Krzysztof Anusz⁴

Affiliations

¹ Provincial Veterinary Inspectorate, 38-400 Krosno, Poland.
² Department of Microbiology, National Veterinary Research Institute, 24-100 Puławy, Poland.
³ Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Institute of Preclinical Veterinary Sciences, University of Life Sciences, 20-033 Lublin, Poland.
⁴ Department of Food Hygiene and Public Health Protection, Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland.
⁵ District Veterinary Inspectorate, 38-700 Ustrzyki Dolne, Poland.
⁶ John Paul II University of Applied Sciences in Biala Podlaska, 21-500 Biala Podlaska, Poland.

Abstract

Introduction: Animal tuberculosis (TB) is a zoonotic disease caused by acid-fast bacteria belonging to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC). Both animals and humans are susceptible to infection by the MTBC. Interspecies transmission is also possible, including to livestock and humans. In the years 1997-2013, many tuberculosis cases were recorded in European bison in the Bieszczady Mountains; more alarmingly, TB was also recorded in wild boar in the years 2013-2020.

Material and methods: In the years 2013-2020, 104 wild boar from the Bieszczady Mountains were tested for TB through necropsy, mycobacterial culture, strain identification and spoligotyping.

Results: The microbiological examination confirmed TB in 46 wild boar; these infections were identified as M. caprae, spoligotype SB2391.

Conclusion: Free-living European bison are at risk of TB infection from wild boar carrying M. caprae. This situation also poses a risk to local cattle. There is a need for further activities aimed at monitoring the disease, preventing further transmission, and minimising the risk to public health.

Keywords: Mycobacterium caprae; spoligotype SB2391; tuberculosis; veterinary administration; wild boar.