Epidemiology of Mycobacterium bovis disease in humans, The Netherlands, 1993-2007

Emerg Infect Dis. 2011 Mar;17(3):457-63. doi: 10.3201/eid1703.101111.

Abstract

In the Netherlands, 1.4% of tuberculosis (TB) cases are caused by Mycobacterium bovis. After we admitted 3 patients with M. bovis infections to our reference hospital, we conducted a retrospective analysis of all M. bovis disease in the Netherlands during 1993-2007. We analyzed data from 231 patients for clinical, demographic, treatment, and outcome characteristics and for risk factors. Most patients were native Dutch (n = 138; 59.7%) or Moroccan (n = 54; 23.4%). Disease was mainly extrapulmonary (n = 136; 58.9%). Although 95 patients had pulmonary disease, person-to-person transmission did not occur, as shown by structural DNA fingerprinting analysis. Lymph node TB was more likely to develop in women (p<0.0001), whereas pulmonary M. bovis disease developed more frequently in men (p<0.0001). Diagnosis was accurate but delayed and led to inadequate treatment in 26% of the cases. Proportion of deaths from M. bovis disease was higher than that for M. tuberculosis disease.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Antitubercular Agents / therapeutic use
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • DNA Fingerprinting
  • Emigrants and Immigrants / statistics & numerical data
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Mycobacterium bovis / classification
  • Mycobacterium bovis / genetics
  • Mycobacterium bovis / isolation & purification*
  • Netherlands / epidemiology
  • Risk Factors
  • Treatment Outcome
  • Tuberculosis / diagnosis
  • Tuberculosis / drug therapy
  • Tuberculosis / epidemiology*
  • Tuberculosis / microbiology
  • Tuberculosis, Lymph Node / diagnosis
  • Tuberculosis, Lymph Node / drug therapy
  • Tuberculosis, Lymph Node / epidemiology*
  • Tuberculosis, Lymph Node / microbiology
  • Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / diagnosis
  • Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / drug therapy
  • Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / epidemiology*
  • Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / microbiology

Substances

  • Antitubercular Agents