There is a growing concern among the researchers that tuberculosis is jumping from the animals to humans at a considerable scale as Mycobacterium bovis which causes tuberculosis in cattle is causing the disease in humans too.

However, animal-to-human tranmission remains an ignored territory for the health agencies at both the national and the international level, the researchers feel.

Even though the data evidence is still not available to prove the extent of incidence of transmission of TB from animals to humans, the cycle of the transmission from animals to humans, from humans to humans and from humans to animals is well established, says Dr Rishendra Verma, head, Division of Biological Standardisation and the head of Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, UP.

Notably, it is learnt that for lack of substantial data, WHO also has not included in its programme the steps to control this type of spread of the disease.

"M bovis is present in a wide range of animals including humans. Animals which have been found infected with TB include cow, buffalo, pig, dog, horse, deer, monkey, cat, camel and elephant among others. Therefore we need to carry out a comprehensive research to work out the burden of M bovis in human population in India, " said Dr Rishendra, speaking on the sidelines of a seminar on "Tuberculosis: A Zoonotic Challenge" here today.

"A 25-year old woman of Karnal in Haryana was found infected with TB through this kind of transmission caused by drinking raw and untreated milk," narrated Dr Rishendra, who has been researching zoonotic diseases for the last 20 years. He added that the products like milk or meat of infected animal could also cause the disease.

... contd.