Mycobacterial Diseases of Animals

Although Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium leprae are the most notable mycobacterial human pathogens, Mycobacterium bovis, Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium, Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis, Mycobac-terium ulcerans, and other mycobacteria are the etiology of important diseases in humans and a wide range of Moreover, species such as M. bovis represent serious zoonotic pathogens and have become important agents at the interface of humans, domestic livestock, and wildlife. This special issue on mycobacterial diseases of animals contains 26 papers comprising 6 reviews, 3 case reports, and 17 original research papers on various topics including animal models, immunology, epidemiology, microbiology, pathology, environment, and history. Authors from 13 different countries provide a diverse examination of mixed topics. The first 6 papers are reviews; M. Munyeme and H. M. Munang'andu discuss numerous anthropogenic factors that impact wildlife, livestock, and humans in the habitat of the endangered lechwe antelope. Bovine tuberculosis eradication efforts are impeded by the presence of an established wildlife reservoir of M. bovis. Accordingly, M.V. Cunha et al. describe the current status of bovine tuberculosis in Portugal, discussing interspecies transmission and the impact of infected wildlife on the status of tuberculosis in cattle. Many mycobacterioses occur in nonmammalian hosts and K. Dhama et al. provide an in-depth review of avian mycobacterioses. In many species, pathogenic mycobacteria undergo a prolonged asymptomatic, or latent period, after which disease is reactivated in a subset of infected hosts. Containment of disease and latency likely coincide with shifts in host immune response. Accordingly, B. L. Plattner and J. M. Hostetter thoroughly review the role of gamma/delta T-lymphocytes in mycobacterial diseases of humans, cattle, and mice. The last 2 reviews are historical in nature. First, M. Good and A. Duignan discuss tuberculin, the mainstay of TB testing. Their review emphasizes the origins, properties, limitations, and use of tuberculin in control programs, leading to the final review in which M. V. Palmer and W. R. Waters describe the genesis of the US bovine tuberculosis eradication effort in 1917. The authors describe laudable research conducted by veterinarians and other scientists, decades before an eradication program existed. The next 3 papers are best described as case reports, discussing mycobacterioses in wildlife. M. Pate et al. provide the first description of Mycobacterium celatum-induced disease in heretofore-unrecognized hosts in Slovenia. W. R. Waters and colleagues describe herds of fallow deer and elk with unusually high disease prevalence. The authors demonstrate the apparent misdiagnosis of numerous …