ZOONOTIC TUBERCULOSIS DUE TO MYCOBACTERIUM-BOVIS IN DEVELOPING-COUNTRIES

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that human tuberculosis (TB) incidence and deaths for 1990 to 1999 will be 88 million and 30 m illion, respectively, with most cases in developing countries. Zoonoti c TB (caused by Mycobacterium bovis) is present in animals in most dev eloping countries where surveillance and control activities are often inadequate or unavailable; therefore, many epidemiologic and public he alth aspects of infection remain largely unknown. We review available information on zoonotic TB in developing countries, analyze risk facto rs that may play a role in the disease, review recent WHO activities, and recommend actions to assess the magnitude of the problem and contr ol the disease in humans and animals.