Public Health officials of England have reported the first ever
documented evidence that tuberculosis (TB) can spread from cats to humans. In 2013,
following an outbreak that involved 9 cats in west Berkshire and Hampshire, 2 people
had reportedly developed active TB disease and 2 developed latent TB, following
close contact with cats. Strains of Mycobacterium bovis, were reportedly
the causative of outbreak in the cats as evidenced by molecular analysis at the
government's Animal Health and
Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AVHLA) showing
that M bovis isolated from the infected cats and
the people with active TB were indistinguishable.
Transmission of M.
bovis from infected
animals to humans can occur by inhaling or ingesting the bacilli shed by the
animal or through contamination of unprotected cuts in the skin while handling
infected animals. Between 2006 and 2012, about 30 cats in Britain were
identified as infected with TB, however, findings from studies from Edinburgh University
suggest that the number of cats with TB would be higher than previously been
thought.
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