Bovine Tuberculosis in Raw Milk: A Herd-Level Prevalence Study by PCR and ELISA Testing in Sylhet Region of Bangladesh
First published: 30 March 2026, Veterinary Medicine and Science, https://doi.org/10.1002/vms3.70906
Volume12, Issue3 May 2026, e70906
ABSTRACT
Introduction
Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) has been a major cause of morbidity and mortality in farm animals and the recent surge of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) in developing countries poses a serious threat to public and animal health. This study aimed to assess the herd-level prevalence and associated risk factors of bovine TB in cattle in northeast regions of Bangladesh.
Methods
A total of 485 dairy samples (385 from dairy milk and 100 from vendor's milk) were tested by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and indirect ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) technique at 16 Upazilas from 4 districts in the Sylhet division of Bangladesh. Genomic DNA extracted from milk samples were targeted at IS6110 and RV1506c genomic fragments for PCR.
Results
Among the 385 milk samples tested, 15 milk samples were positive for Mycobacterium genus by PCR (3.90%, 95% CI: 1.95–5.84). Also, 10 samples were found to be positive for M. bovis and the prevalence was 2.60% (95% CI: 1.00–4.19) and only 2 milk samples were positive for M. tuberculosis by PCR whose prevalence was 0.52% (95% CI: 0.00–1.24) respectively in individual milk samples. In vendor's milk sample, the trend was lowered for each bacterium and indirect ELISA results agreed with a similar pattern of prevalence. Cows having chronic cough was one of the significant risk factors of herd-level prevalence.
Conclusion
Findings from this study necessitate a comprehensive program for TB surveillance of associated risk factors or protective factors in human, environment and animal interface.
Peer Review
For transparency, the peer review documents associated with this article are available at https://doi.org/10.1002/vms3.70906.
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