RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article T1 Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex Infection in Eurasian Badger (Meles meles) and Cattle in Asturias, Spain A1 Blanco Vázquez, Cristina A1 Barral, Thiago Doria A1 Romero, Beatriz A1 Queipo, Manuel Antonio A1 Merediz, Isabel A1 Quirós, Pablo A1 Armenteros, José Ángel A1 Juste, Ramón A. A1 Domínguez, Lucas A1 Domínguez, Mercedes A1 Casais, Rosa A1 Balseiro Morales, Ana María A2 Sanidad Animal K1 Sanidad animal K1 Meles meles K1 Badger K1 Tuberculosis K1 Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex K1 P22 ELISA K1 Isolation K1 Serology K1 Cattle K1 Atlantic Spain K1 3109 Ciencias Veterinarias AB [EN] The present work investigated the prevalence, spatial distribution, and temporal distribution of tuberculosis (TB) in free-ranging Eurasian badgers (Meles meles) and cattle in Asturias (Atlantic Spain) during a 13-year follow-up. The study objective was to assess the role of badgers as a TB reservoir for cattle and other sympatric wild species in the region. Between 2008 and 2020, 673 badgers (98 trapped and 575 killed in road traffic accidents) in Asturias were necropsied, and their tissue samples were cultured for the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) isolation. Serum samples were tested in an in-house indirect P22 ELISA to detect antibodies against the MTC. In parallel, data on MTC isolation and single intradermal tuberculin test results were extracted for cattle that were tested and culled as part of the Spanish National Program for the Eradication of Bovine TB. A total of 27/639 badgers (4.23%) were positive for MTC based on bacterial isolation, while 160/673 badgers (23.77%) were found to be positive with the P22 ELISA. The rate of seroposi-tivity was higher among adult badgers than subadults. Badger TB status was spatially and tempo-rally associated with cattle TB status. Our results cannot determine the direction of possible interspecies transmission, but they are consistent with the idea that the two hosts may exert infection pressure on each other. This study highlights the importance of the wildlife monitoring of infection and disease during epidemiological interventions in order to optimize outcomes. PB MDPI LK https://hdl.handle.net/10612/18916 UL https://hdl.handle.net/10612/18916 NO Vázquez, C. B., Barral, T. D., Romero, B., Queipo, M., Merediz, I., Quirós, P., Armenteros, J. Á., Juste, R., Domínguez, L., Domínguez, M., Casais, R., & Balseiro, A. (2021). Spatial and temporal distribution of mycobacterium tuberculosis complex infection in eurasian badger (Meles meles) and cattle in asturias, spain. Animals, 11(5). https://doi.org/10.3390/ANI11051294 NO Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/) DS BULERIA. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de León RD 21-jun-2024