Kittens can Transmit Tuberculosis Bacteria

Feline-human disease transmission was documented in two people in Britain. Two other cat owners have been infected with a dormant form of bovine TB, said a Daily Mail report.

The infection was passed to each of the patients during an unprecedented outbreak of the disease among cats in Newbury, Berkshire.

Tuberculosis - Spread - Symptoms - Diagnosis - Treatment - FAQs
Tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, primarily affects the lung. It may spread to other organs.

"These are the first documented cases of cat-to-human transmission," Dilys Morgan of Public Health England was quoted as saying.

Nine cats in Hampshire and Berkshire were investigated for TB infection. Experts are unclear how the animals contracted the disease.

In recent years, scientists have warned that cats could spread TB to their owners but these are believed to be the first documented cases in the world.

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"It is important to remember that this was a very unusual cluster of TB in domestic cats," Morgan added.

Bovine TB has ravaged the British farming industry, with farms forced to slaughter 30,000 cows with the disease each year.

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Badgers are blamed for accelerating its spread.

These short-legged omnivores belong to the family Mustelidae that also includes the otters, polecats, weasels and wolverine.

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Source-IANS