Abstract:
Mycobacterium bovis, causing bovine tuberculosis (BTB), has been recognized as a global
threat at the wildlife-livestock-human interface, a clear “One Health” issue. Several wildlife
species have been identified as maintenance hosts. Spillover of infection from these species
to livestock or other wildlife species may have economic and conservation implications and
infection of humans causes public health concerns, especially in developing countries. Most
BTB management strategies rely on BTB testing, which can be performed for a range of purposes,
from disease surveillance to diagnosing individual infected animals. New diagnostic
assays are being developed for selected wildlife species. This review investigates the most
frequent objectives and associated requirements for testing wildlife for tuberculosis at the
level of individual animals as well as small and large populations. By aligning those with
the available (immunological) ante mortem diagnostic assays, the practical challenges and
limitations wildlife managers and researchers are currently faced with are highlighted.
