Zoonotic tuberculosis. A comprehensive ONE HEALTH approach

The objective of this report is to provide information on Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex infections in animals and in humans. Included is information on the susceptibility of different species as well as information on etiology, epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, prevention and control of this disease. The term One Health has been adopted to describe the unified human medical and veterinary interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary collaborative approach to zoonoses and will be critical for future endeavors in the control of the global TB epidemic. This unified paradigm is ideally suited for control of bovine TB and many other international public health and clinical health issues. Sharing resources and increasing interaction between public health and veterinary medical scientists can raise awareness of 'shared risk' of bovine TB between humans and animals and, in resource-limited situations, can maximize use of existing infrastructure and reduce unnecessary duplication of effort in disease control programs.