How Tuberculosis Spreads from Cows to Us
I was visiting my aunt in Mumbai. She is in the Pediatrics division in a government hospital there. Every week 2-3 children are admitted in the General Ward suffering from tuberculosis. What is common is that most of these are children of the milkman, who live with cows/buffaloes and the infection travels from the infected animals to these kids. Tuberculosis in cattle is caused by a bacteria Mycobacterium bovis. It is spread from one animal to other through inhalation. It is shed in milk, saliva,urine, droppings etc. It can remain undetected in cattle, thereby spreading to humans who live in the vicinity. Human beings get this infection by consuming raw milk or by inhalation. Pasteurization destroys these bacteria in milk. In UK, tuberculosis caused in humans due to animals (zoonotic origin) was once a leading cause of death in humans. The government launched a scheme to eradicate this disease. The infected animals were culled immediately. UK has been free of tuberculosis fo...