viii Preface
standardize. Demands for more sensitive and specific diagnostic methods will need to be met in the
coming years.
Historically, the use of vaccines for controlling bTB was not pursued, with reliance instead on
the currently accepted methods of tuberculin test-and-slaughter. However, the persistence of infec-
tion in wildlife reservoirs, some of which are protected by law, is driving research towards vaccine
development and deployment, including approaches that would allow differentiation between vac-
cinated animals and those infected with M. bovis or with other mycobacteria. These requirements
underlie the drive for detailed understanding of the immunological responses of cattle, and of key
wildlife species such as badgers, possums, white tailed deer and wild boars, to infection with M. bovis.
The availability of the first genome sequence of M. bovis in 2003, coupled with transcriptional
analysis at the level of the genome, has led to huge strides in understanding the metabolism and
virulence of this organism and how it differs from M. tuberculosis and the attenuated M. bovis bacillus
Calmette–Guérin vaccine. Whole genome sequencing of multiple M. bovis isolates is now leading to
a better understanding of the global population structure and has been adapted for strain typing
purposes, an area already supplying insights into M. bovis transmission dynamics. An improved
understanding of M. bovis virulence genes could identify targets to be exploited in development of
the next generation of live vaccines.
We have divided this book into separate sections with cross-referencing, where appropriate.
Chapters 1 to 7 cover the global situation, public health and economic significance and epidemiology
of TB cattle, other species and wildlife. Chapters 8 and 9 cover the mechanism of disease, namely the
molecular basis of virulence, pathogenesis and pathology. Chapters 10 and 11 cover innate and
adaptive immunity. Chapters 12 to 15 include approaches to surveillance (immunological and
molecular diagnosis) and control (vaccination and other approaches to control). Finally, in Chapter
16 the editors have synthesized the main findings from the chapters with a look forward to the
future.
It is over 110 years since Theobald Smith first differentiated the human and bovine tubercle
bacilli. We hope that the comprehensive update on M. bovis and bTB delivered in this book will pro-
vide the reader with a feeling for this fascinating organism, a pathogen that still challenges at the
nexus of animal and human medicine.
Paul Barrow
Mark Chambers
Stephen Gordon
Francisco Olea-Popelka