Transmission of Mycobacterium orygis (M. tuberculosis complex species) from a tuberculosis patient to a dairy cow in New Zealand.

Mycobacterium orygis, previously called the oryx bacillus, is a member of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex and has been reported only recently as a cause of human tuberculosis in patients of South Asian origin. We present the first case documenting the transmission of this organism from a human to a cow.