Bovine Tuberculosis
Last reviewed May 2007
Australian situation
Australia is free from Bovine tuberculosis (TB). The last case[1] in cattle was detected in March 2002 and in buffalo in January 2002.
The Brucellosis and Tuberculosis Eradication Campaign (BTEC) was a national program to eradicate bovine brucellosis and bovine tuberculosis that commenced in 1970 after years of local jurisdictional activities. Australia was declared "Impending Free’ for bovine TB on 31 December 1992. A further five years of monitoring passed before Australia met OIE criteria as a country officially free and this was declared on 31 December 1997.
The Tuberculosis Freedom Assurance Program (TFAP) was conducted from 1998 to 2002. TFAP was a national program comprising surveillance and eradication activities, to detect any recrudescence of TB and to ensure that it was promptly and effectively eliminated. Surveillance was based primarily on the examination of animals at slaughter and the submission of any detected granulomas for laboratory examination, as part of the National Granuloma Submission Program (NGSP). Tuberculin field testing was undertaken wherever slaughter data was judged to be inadequate. The last outbreak[2] of TB was detected in cattle in December 2000, and in buffalo in January 2002.
TFAP2 is a four year program that commenced in January 2003 and is essentially a continuation of TFAP. No cases of TB have been detected during TFAP2. After TFAP2, surveillance for TB will continue under the Australian Bovine TB Surveillance Project (ABTBSP) to the end of 2010. Abattoir surveillance for TB, as a part of normal meat inspection at slaughter, will continue to be the mainstay of TB surveillance activities. Further information on TFAP, TFAP2 and the ABTBSP can be found on the Animal Health Australia website.
For general information on managing animal health in Australia, please consult the latest edition of 'Animal Health in Australia'.
This disease is nationally notifiable in Australia. Please consult Australia's Agreed Minimum List of Notifiable Diseases for further information.
A 'Bovine TB Case Response Manual' describing control measures in the event of an outbreak of TB will be available in 2007 on the Animal Health Australia website.
Disease summary
TB in cattle is caused by Mycobacterium bovis. It is a chronic disease that seldom becomes apparent in live animals until it has reached an advanced stage. The disease can be spread to many other species, including humans, by drinking raw (unpasteurised) milk, consuming infected meat or by inhaling bacteria exhaled from an infected animal.
World distribution
TB occurs in most cattle producing countries of the world. Many countries have control programs for the disease.
More information on this OIE-listed disease, including worldwide disease status and distribution, is available on the OIE Website.
Surveillance statistics
For further information on the number of cattle inspected at slaughter and the number of granulomas examined, contact the program manager below. A link will be provided to National Animal Health Information System (NAHIS) data in the future, this data will include the number of animals TB tested, mostly for live export certification purposes.
Information regarding human cases in Australia is collected by the Department of Health and Ageing. Most of the data reported for human cases is due to Mycobacterium tuberculosis. M bovis is a member of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex (MTBC).
TB Breakdown Herds as at 31 December 2005
| | ||||||||||||||
| | Impending Free - BTEC | Free - TFAP | TFAP2 | |||||||||||
| | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
| NSW | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| QLD | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 2 | 3 3 | 1 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| NT | 6 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VIC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| WA | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TAS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AUS | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Source: Animal Health Surveillance Quarterly.
1 These case herds are secondary to the case detected in Queensland in December 2000
2 The last outbreak of bovine tuberculosis in cattle was detected on 11/12/2000. All subsequent bovine case herds are secondary case herds traced and detected over a 15 month period of investigations. The nine case herds yielded 14 confirmed infections: all isolates have been shown to be identical on the basis of current tests (IS-RFLP, PGRS-RFLP, DR-RFLP, Spoligotyping & VNTR).
3 These case herds are secondary to the case detected in Queensland in December 2000
4 This case herd is secondary to the case herd detected in Queensland in December 2000
5 Two buffalo case herds, one being secondary. All ten isolates identical spoligotype Sp08.
No case of bovine tuberculosis has been detected in cattle or buffalo by either tuberculin test or under the NGSP in Australia during TFAP2. With Australian terminology, a ‘case’ refers to a TB case herd which may contain a number of animals with confirmed infections and may include related secondary case herds.
A ‘Disease Card’ describing this disease is also available on the OIE Website. http://www.oie.int/eng/en_index.htm
Further information
Further information, including publicly available Australian historical data can be obtained by contacting:
Project Manager
Animal Health Australia
Phone: (02) 6203 3912
Fax: (02) 6232 5511
Email: aha@animalhealthaustralia.com.au
[1] Case as defined by OIE. http://www.oie.int/eng/normes/mcode/A_summry.htm
[2] Outbreak as defined by OIE. http://www.oie.int/eng/normes/mcode/A_summry.htm