M.boivs between bafflo in canada Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

M.boivs between bafflo in canada - Essay Example The disease described is bovine tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium bovis and aside from affecting cattle and humans; it can also be transmitted to other animals like goats, bison, swine, and cervids which include elks and deer. Proper disease management can only be achieve through familiarization with the means of disease transmission, diagnosis through proper identification of signs and symptoms, and employment of prevention strategies that will limit the spread of the disease. The objective of this paper is to provide basic information about the fundamentals of bovine tuberculosis for use in the formulation of disease management strategies for buffalo in Canada. Transmission of the causal organism M. bovis can take various paths. The pathogen can be spread through breathing-in of infected aerosols, by ingestion, and by passage through open wounds (CFSPH, 2009). Infected animals pass the bacteria with their feces, saliva, semen or vaginal fluid, blood, and milk. Contact with these infected bodily fluids as well as fresh carcass of dead infected animals may lead to infection because M. bovis has a relatively low infectious dose (PHAC, 2010). In the disease’s spread, it is important to be familiar with zoonosis and the role of reservoir hosts and spillover hosts. Normally, diseases have a certain genetic barrier and are confined to be infective only to members of the same or related species. But there are certain diseases that do not operate by this rule. Zoonosis is the term used to classify diseases that can naturally be transmitted from vertebrate animals to humans and vice versa. M. bovis is usually maintained in cattle populations but zoonosis is possible for monkeys, parrots, sheep, dogs, and cats among other animals (PHAC, 2010). Humans, cattle, and diseased animal tissue are the reservoir host of the bacterium. Reservoir hosts are organisms in which vast numbers of the