[History and perspective of reemerging tuberculosis]

The concepts of infectious emergency, the microbial virulence stimulatory factors, the genetic basis (pathogenicity islands and type III secretion factors) of the microbial variation and adaptation, the interest of animal reservoirs in the infection and transmission cycles, and the reemergence of human and animal tuberculosis are reviewed. In reference to the tuberculosis, the finding of a new species or subspecies of mycobacteria isolated by the authors laboratory from goats and belonging to the important M. tuberculosis group is reported.