Zoonotic Tuberculosis: A Neglected Disease in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region
Dalal Kasir,
Nour Osman,
Aicha Awik,
Imane El Ratel,
Rayane Rafei,
Imad Al Kassaa,
Dima El Safadi,
Rayane Salma,
Khaled El Omari,
Kevin J. Cummings,
Issmat I. Kassem,
Marwan Osman
Affiliations
Dalal Kasir
Quality Control Center Laboratories at the Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture of Tripoli & North Lebanon, Tripoli 1300, Lebanon
Nour Osman
Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut 1100, Lebanon
Aicha Awik
Laboratoire Microbiologie Santé et Environnement (LMSE), Doctoral School of Sciences and Technology, Faculty of Public Health, Lebanese University, Tripoli 1300, Lebanon
Imane El Ratel
Laboratoire Microbiologie Santé et Environnement (LMSE), Doctoral School of Sciences and Technology, Faculty of Public Health, Lebanese University, Tripoli 1300, Lebanon
Rayane Rafei
Laboratoire Microbiologie Santé et Environnement (LMSE), Doctoral School of Sciences and Technology, Faculty of Public Health, Lebanese University, Tripoli 1300, Lebanon
Imad Al Kassaa
Fonterra Research and Development Center, Palmerston North 4410, New Zealand
Dima El Safadi
Department of Clinical Sciences, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool L3 5QA, UK
Rayane Salma
Quality Control Center Laboratories at the Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture of Tripoli & North Lebanon, Tripoli 1300, Lebanon
Khaled El Omari
Quality Control Center Laboratories at the Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture of Tripoli & North Lebanon, Tripoli 1300, Lebanon
Kevin J. Cummings
Department of Public and Ecosystem Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
Issmat I. Kassem
Center for Food Safety, Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Georgia, 1109 Experiment Street, Griffin, GA 30223, USA
Marwan Osman
Department of Public and Ecosystem Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
Mycobacterium bovis is the etiologic agent of bovine tuberculosis (BTB), a serious infectious disease in both humans and animals. BTB is a zoonotic disease primarily affecting cattle and occasionally humans infected through close contact with infected hosts or the consumption of unpasteurized dairy products. Zoonotic tuberculosis is strongly associated with poverty and poor hygiene, and low- and middle-income countries bear the brunt of the disease. BTB has been increasingly recognized as a growing public health threat in developing countries. However, the lack of effective surveillance programs in many of these countries poses a barrier to accurately determining the true burden of this disease. Additionally, the control of BTB is threatened by the emergence of drug-resistant strains that affect the effectiveness of current treatment regimens. Here, we analyzed current trends in the epidemiology of the disease as well as the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of M. bovis in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, a region that includes several developing countries. Following PRISMA guidelines, a total of 90 studies conducted in the MENA region were selected. Our findings revealed that the prevalence of BTB among humans and cattle varied significantly according to the population size and country in the MENA region. Most of the available studies were based on culture and/or PCR strategies and were published without including data on antimicrobial resistance and molecular typing. Our findings highlighted the paramount need for the use of appropriate diagnostic tools and the implementation of sustainable control measures, especially at the human/animal interface, in the MENA region.
