Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is an important bacterial disease caused by Mycobacterium bovis. It occurs worldwide [1, 2] and affects a wide range of wild and domestic animals [2]. Bovine tuberculosis is a zoonotic disease: man can become infected via milk, aerosols, consumption of infected meat and accidental laboratory exposure [1, 3]. M. bovis is responsible for 5–10 % of all human tuberculosis cases [4] but the infection rate varies widely from country to country [1]. After exposure to infection, animals respond by activating both cellular and humoral immunity. M. bovis moves via the lymphatic system within cells to regional lymph nodes similar to other mycobacterial infections, and delayed hypersensitivity reactions typically commence between 30 and 50 days after the establishment of infection [2, 3, 5]. Tuberculosis is typically a chronic infection. Many infected animals in the herd remain undetected for a long time but they can shed the bacteria by aerosol, via milk, urine and faeces. Consequently, the infection spreads from chronically infected carrier animals to susceptible animals [3, 5]. Programmes to control bTB are based on an identification system for all animals, and the detection of infected individuals at post-mortem examination, especially during meat inspection. Intensive, systematic surveillance, commonly by means of skin tests, is usually linked to the slaughter of positive, reactor animals. Animal movement control and the cleansing and disinfection of contaminated environments [2, 5–9] are important adjuncts to effective control of bTB.
Despite the long history of attempted control and eradication, bTB remains an important disease and its prevalence - in global terms—is almost unchanged; in some countries its prevalence is increasing [1]. This picture is reported in developing countries and more developed countries, including those with highly organized and functional veterinary services that implement eradication programmes correctly [8, 9].
In Albania, the prevalence of bTB is poorly documented. After 1990, the cattle management system changed dramatically: the large, collective, state-owned farms were replaced by many thousands of privately owned small holdings, each with very few cattle. It is estimated that in 2012 there were 480,000 cattle in 375,217 holdings, 73 % with 1–4 animals, and only 5 % with more than 50 cattle. In epidemiological terms, these circumstances complicate the control of bTB. Conversely, the national cattle herd structure might reduce disease transmission since herds are small and are kept separated. Over the last 25 years, the bovine tuberculosis control programme has been based on a skin test, by use of a Purified Protein Derivative (PPD) bovine tuberculin produced by the national reference laboratory, the quality of which was not independently certified. On farms where reactor animals were found, no sanitary measures were implemented. During the last three years, no systematic control measures for bTB have been applied. Moreover, during recent years, there has reportedly been an increase in the prevalence of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis in humans from which M. bovis and M. caprae have been isolated (personal communication, Dr. Silva Tafaj)Footnote 1, thus suggesting a bovine origin of the infection. Diagnostic tests that are available today have low sensitivity [2, 6–8, 10–12]. Active surveillance based on the skin test is expensive, and requires well-trained people along with field mobility, adequate supervision; specific, expensive equipment (syringes, needles, etc. not available in Albania.); certified tuberculin, etc.
Advances in the diagnosis of tuberculosis aim to introduce standardized, alternative tests with greater sensitivity and ease of use, and reduced costs, e.g. the M. bovis ELISA test (IDEXX®) [12, 13]. Available data suggest that the sensitivity of this ELISA test is increased by the previous stimulation of the immune system by the intradermal skin test [13], which is currently not done routinely in Albania. However, the higher age of Albanian cattle (frequently >10 years) in many holdings could give more time for them to develop a chronic humoral immune response detectable in the ELISA. For this reason, we conducted this survey to estimate the sero-prevalence of bovine tuberculosis using the IDEXX M.bovis ELISA test and to assess the suitability of this test for bTB surveillance in Albania, which could reduce costs of surveillance.