Epidemiological characterization of Mycobacterium caprae strains isolated from wildlife in the Bieszczady Mountains, on the border of Southeast Poland.

Background: The majority of animal tuberculosis (TB) cases reported in wildlife in Poland over the past 20 years have concerned the European bison inhabiting the Bieszczady Mountains in Southeast Poland: an area running along the border of Southeast Poland. As no TB cases have been reported in domestic animals in this region since 2005, any occurrence of TB in the free-living animals inhabiting this area might pose a real threat to local livestock and result in the loss of disease-free status. The aim of the study was to describe the occurrence of tuberculosis in the wildlife of the Bieszczady Mountains and determine the microbiological and molecular characteristics of any cultured strains.

Mycobacterium caprae - the first case of the human infection in Poland.

The strain of tuberculous mycobacteria called infects many wild and domestic animals; however, because of its zoonotic potential and possibility of transmission between animals and humans, it poses a serious threat to public health. Due to diagnostic limitations regarding identification of MTB strains available data regarding the incidence of , human infection does not reflect the actual size of the problem. Despite the fact that the possible routes of tuberculosis transmission are known, the epidemiological map of this zoonosis remains underestimated.