Epidemiological tracing of bovine tuberculosis in Switzerland, multilocus variable number of tandem repeat analysis of Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium caprae.

BACKGROUND:After 15 years of absence, in 2013 bovine tuberculosis (bTB), caused by Mycobacterium (M.) bovis and M. caprae, reemerged in the Swiss dairy cattle population. In order to identify the sources of infection as well as the spread of the agents, molecular-epidemiologic tracing by MIRU-VNTR a...

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Main Authors: Giovanni Ghielmetti, Simone Scherrer, Ute Friedel, Daniel Frei, Dominique Suter, Lukas Perler, Max M Wittenbrink
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2017-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5319696?pdf=render
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author Giovanni Ghielmetti
Simone Scherrer
Ute Friedel
Daniel Frei
Dominique Suter
Lukas Perler
Max M Wittenbrink
author_facet Giovanni Ghielmetti
Simone Scherrer
Ute Friedel
Daniel Frei
Dominique Suter
Lukas Perler
Max M Wittenbrink
author_sort Giovanni Ghielmetti
collection DOAJ
description BACKGROUND:After 15 years of absence, in 2013 bovine tuberculosis (bTB), caused by Mycobacterium (M.) bovis and M. caprae, reemerged in the Swiss dairy cattle population. In order to identify the sources of infection as well as the spread of the agents, molecular-epidemiologic tracing by MIRU-VNTR analysis in combination with spoligotyping was performed. A total of 17 M. bovis and 7 M. caprae isolates were cultured from tuberculous bovine lymph nodes and analyzed with a set of 49 genetic markers by using automated capillary electrophoresis. RESULTS:The outbreak in the western part of Switzerland was caused by M. bovis spoligotype SB0120. With the exception of four single-locus variations observed in MIRU 20, the MIRU-VNTR profiles of the 17 M. bovis isolates were identical, indicating a single source of infection. M. bovis detected in one archival bovine specimen from the outbreak region showed an identical MIRU-VNTR profile, suggesting persistence of the agent in a dairy herd for nearly fifteen years. The outbreak in the eastern part of Switzerland was caused by M. caprae spoligotype SB0418. All Swiss M. caprae isolates showed the Lechtal-type MIRU-VNTR profile, described as endemic in wild ruminants and in dairy cattle in Austrian bordering regions. This suggests the agent was most likely introduced by Swiss dairy cattle summering on Austrian pastures. CONCLUSIONS:The present study is the first MIRU-VNTR analysis of Swiss bTB mycobacterial isolates. The genotyping assay was found to be highly discriminating and suitable for the epidemiological tracing of further outbreaks. These findings will contribute to the development of an international MIRU-VNTR database aiming to improve bTB surveillance.
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spelling doaj.art-15d44fd38bb44aeebc5424bb838eb3e92022-12-22T02:27:36ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032017-01-01122e017247410.1371/journal.pone.0172474Epidemiological tracing of bovine tuberculosis in Switzerland, multilocus variable number of tandem repeat analysis of Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium caprae.Giovanni GhielmettiSimone ScherrerUte FriedelDaniel FreiDominique SuterLukas PerlerMax M WittenbrinkBACKGROUND:After 15 years of absence, in 2013 bovine tuberculosis (bTB), caused by Mycobacterium (M.) bovis and M. caprae, reemerged in the Swiss dairy cattle population. In order to identify the sources of infection as well as the spread of the agents, molecular-epidemiologic tracing by MIRU-VNTR analysis in combination with spoligotyping was performed. A total of 17 M. bovis and 7 M. caprae isolates were cultured from tuberculous bovine lymph nodes and analyzed with a set of 49 genetic markers by using automated capillary electrophoresis. RESULTS:The outbreak in the western part of Switzerland was caused by M. bovis spoligotype SB0120. With the exception of four single-locus variations observed in MIRU 20, the MIRU-VNTR profiles of the 17 M. bovis isolates were identical, indicating a single source of infection. M. bovis detected in one archival bovine specimen from the outbreak region showed an identical MIRU-VNTR profile, suggesting persistence of the agent in a dairy herd for nearly fifteen years. The outbreak in the eastern part of Switzerland was caused by M. caprae spoligotype SB0418. All Swiss M. caprae isolates showed the Lechtal-type MIRU-VNTR profile, described as endemic in wild ruminants and in dairy cattle in Austrian bordering regions. This suggests the agent was most likely introduced by Swiss dairy cattle summering on Austrian pastures. CONCLUSIONS:The present study is the first MIRU-VNTR analysis of Swiss bTB mycobacterial isolates. The genotyping assay was found to be highly discriminating and suitable for the epidemiological tracing of further outbreaks. These findings will contribute to the development of an international MIRU-VNTR database aiming to improve bTB surveillance.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5319696?pdf=render
spellingShingle Giovanni Ghielmetti
Simone Scherrer
Ute Friedel
Daniel Frei
Dominique Suter
Lukas Perler
Max M Wittenbrink
Epidemiological tracing of bovine tuberculosis in Switzerland, multilocus variable number of tandem repeat analysis of Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium caprae.
PLoS ONE
title Epidemiological tracing of bovine tuberculosis in Switzerland, multilocus variable number of tandem repeat analysis of Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium caprae.
title_full Epidemiological tracing of bovine tuberculosis in Switzerland, multilocus variable number of tandem repeat analysis of Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium caprae.
title_fullStr Epidemiological tracing of bovine tuberculosis in Switzerland, multilocus variable number of tandem repeat analysis of Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium caprae.
title_full_unstemmed Epidemiological tracing of bovine tuberculosis in Switzerland, multilocus variable number of tandem repeat analysis of Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium caprae.
title_short Epidemiological tracing of bovine tuberculosis in Switzerland, multilocus variable number of tandem repeat analysis of Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium caprae.
title_sort epidemiological tracing of bovine tuberculosis in switzerland multilocus variable number of tandem repeat analysis of mycobacterium bovis and mycobacterium caprae
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5319696?pdf=render
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