Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis)

Mycobacterium bovis is a member of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex and is the principal causative agent of tuberculosis in cattle (bovine TB), but can infect many mammals, including humans, manifesting as a chronic, slow-progressing infection. It is a Gram-positive, acid-fast, rod-shaped aerobic bacterium that survives within host macrophages, often persisting in a quiescent form encased within granulomas. M. bovis exhibits robust resistance to environmental stress and immune attacks, owing to its high cell wall lipid content. While eradication programs and pasteurization have reduced human infection in the developed world, it remains an important zoonotic and veterinary pathogen worldwide. Treatment is complicated by intrinsic drug resistance (notably to pyrazinamide), and diagnosis relies on tests of cell-mediated immunity rather than standard serology. The attenuated BCG strain of M. bovis forms the basis of the only currently available tuberculosis vaccine[1][2][3][4].

Other names

Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) strain (for vaccine/attenuated form)bovine TB bacillus"M. bovis"

Inhibition of cell wall synthesis (e.g., isoniazid, ethambutol, rifampin); Inhibition of RNA synthesis (rifampin); Inhibition of protein synthesis (streptomycin); Quinolones: inhibit DNA gyrase/topoisomerase