Prevalence of Bovine Tuberculosis in Slaughtered Cattle in Sicily, Southern Italy

Abstract

Post-mortem inspection in slaughterhouses plays a key role in the epidemiological surveillance of infectious diseases, including bTB. This study assessed the prevalence of bTB in cattle in Sicily during two different three-year periods (2010–2012; 2017–2019), using data from meat inspections and histopathological methods. Out of 100,196 cattle, 5221 (5.21%) were diagnosed with tuberculous lesions. Higher prevalence of bTB was recorded during the triennium 2010–2012 (6.74%; n = 3692) compared to the triennium 2017–2019 (3.36%; n = 1529), with a decreasing trend in annual occurrence throughout the study period and a heterogenous proportion of infected cattle among the Sicilian provinces (p < 0.01). Lower rates of infection were recorded in animals aged <12 months and >84 months (p < 0.0001). Pearson’s chi square analysis revealed a higher localization of lesions in the thoracic cavity (p < 0.0001). Gathered findings show that even though bTB occurrence in cattle was greatly reduced over the years, the disease still remains widespread in Sicily, also posing severe implications for public health.

Combining Analytical Approaches and Multiple Sources of Information to Improve Interpretation of Diagnostic Test Results for Tuberculosis in Wild Meerkats

“…In contrast, the IPRA appears to have greater sensitivity and would be a better surveillance tool for infection. Even in cattle, where far greater resources have been put into diagnostic test development and ante-mortem surveillance, post-mortem testing at slaughterhouses can still make a significant contribution to the identification of cases missed ante-mortem [ 41 , 42 ]. There may be limitations using the IPRA in late-stage disease; therefore, it should be interpreted in parallel with the other tests to optimise overall sensitivity, an interpretation shown to be effective in studies of other species [ 43 ].…”

Prevalence and Molecular Characterization of Mycobacterium bovis in Slaughtered Cattle Carcasses in Burkina Faso; West Africa

“…Another limitation of the study is the fact that modern biosecurity scores [ 45 ], recently included in a European study, were not applied for the assessment. The application of such standardized scores generally facilitates the comparison of studies on rare diseases such as bovine tuberculosis, which still occurs in a one-digit percentage range even in endemicity areas in Europe [ 46 ]. In addition, the fact that sampling was conducted nine years ago limits the interpretation of the data.…”

First Isolation and Molecular Characterization of Pseudorabies Virus in a Hunting Dog in Sicily (Southern Italy)

“…As matter of fact, most of the domestic pigs in Sicily region are traditionally bred in extensive or semi-extensive farming system, sharing feeding and watering areas with wild boar populations and other livestock, with large opportunities of pathogens transmis-sion [30,31]. In this area, the seroprevalence of SHV-1 in domestic pigs constantly increased in the last decade, reaching the highest value in 2017 (i.e., 7.8%) [31], raising the hypothesis that the transmission of PrV in wild boars took place from infected domestic pigs through continuous contact between the two species and contamination of grazing, feeding, and watering areas.…”