Tuberculosis at the animal-human interface in the Ugandan cattle corridor using a third-generation sequencing...

Area of Science:

• One Health
• Genomics
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Mycobacterial diseases pose a significant global health burden, with antibiotic resistance being a growing concern.
• Understanding transmission dynamics between animals and humans is crucial for disease control.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the epidemiology of mycobacteria in humans and cattle within the Ugandan cattle corridor (UCC).
• To explore the role of bidirectional transmission in local mycobacterial ecology.
• To assess the significance of zoonotic Mycobacterium bovis in the human population.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing whole-genome sequencing (Illumina and Oxford Nanopore MinION) for organism diversity analysis.
• Conducting a cross-sectional analysis of the mycobacteria-positive population in the UCC.
• Performing epidemiological and phylogenetic analyses on sequencing data.

Main Results:

• The study aims to elucidate transmission pathways and identify key drivers of mycobacterial disease in the region.
• Genomic data will reveal the genetic diversity and relatedness of mycobacterial strains.

Conclusions:

• Findings will inform public health strategies for controlling mycobacterial diseases in areas with high human-animal contact.
• This research contributes to understanding the One Health approach to infectious disease management.