Yahyaoui Azami Hind, Perea Claudia, Stuber Tod, Bouslikhane Mohammed, Berrada Jaouad, Aboukhassib Hamid, Allepuz Palau Alberto Oscar, Reis Ana C, Cunha Mónica V, Thacker Tyler C, Robbe-Austerman Suelee, Salvador Liliana C M, Quinn Frederick D
Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America.
United States Department of Agriculture, Diagnostic Bacteriology and Pathology Laboratory, National Veterinary Services Laboratories, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Ames, Iowa, United States of America.
PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2025 Feb 18;19(2):e0011982. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0011982. eCollection 2025 Feb.
Livestock production is a fundamental pillar of the Moroccan economy. Infectious diseases of cattle and other species represent a significant threat to the livestock industry, animal health, and food safety. Bovine tuberculosis (bTB), mainly caused by Mycobacterium bovis, generates considerable direct and indirect economic losses, and an underestimated human health burden caused by zoonotic transmission. Previous studies have suggested likely M. bovis transmission links between Morocco and Southern Europe, however, limitations inherent with the methods used prevented definitive conclusions. In this study, we employed whole genome sequencing analysis to determine the genetic diversity of the first 55 M. bovis whole-genomes in Morocco and to better define the phylogenetic links between strains from Morocco and a large dataset from related and neighboring countries. With a total of 780 M. bovis sequences extracted from cattle, wildlife or humans and representing 36 countries, we discovered two new M bovis spoligotypes in Morocco and that the Moroccan clonal complexes are classified as belonging to Europe or Unknown, supporting previous studies that the Sahara Desert might be playing a key role in preventing M. bovis transmission between North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. Furthermore, our analysis showed a close M. bovis genetic relationship between cattle from Morocco and cattle from Spain, France, Portugal and Germany, and from cattle in Morocco and humans in Italy, Germany, and the UK. These results suggest that animal trade and human migration between Morocco and these countries might be playing a role in disease transmission. Our study benefits from a large sample size and a rich dataset that includes sequences from cattle, wildlife and humans from Morocco and neighboring countries, enabling the delineation of M. bovis genetic links across countries and host-species. Our study calls for further investigation of animal and zoonotic TB spread in Morocco and in other countries, which is important to inform future TB control measures at the animal-human interface.
畜牧业是摩洛哥经济的重要支柱。牛及其他物种的传染病对畜牧业、动物健康和食品安全构成重大威胁。牛结核病（bTB）主要由牛分枝杆菌引起，会造成巨大的直接和间接经济损失，以及因人畜共患病传播导致的被低估的人类健康负担。此前的研究表明，摩洛哥与南欧之间可能存在牛分枝杆菌传播联系，然而，所用方法存在的局限性使得无法得出明确结论。在本研究中，我们采用全基因组测序分析来确定摩洛哥首批55个牛分枝杆菌全基因组的遗传多样性，并更好地界定摩洛哥菌株与来自相关及邻国的大量数据集之间的系统发育联系。我们从牛、野生动物或人类中提取了总共780个牛分枝杆菌序列，这些序列代表36个国家，我们在摩洛哥发现了两种新的牛分枝杆菌间隔寡核苷酸分型，并且摩洛哥的克隆复合体被归类为属于欧洲或未知类型，这支持了此前的研究，即撒哈拉沙漠可能在防止牛分枝杆菌在北非和撒哈拉以南非洲之间传播方面发挥着关键作用。此外，我们的分析表明，摩洛哥的牛与西班牙、法国、葡萄牙和德国的牛之间，以及摩洛哥的牛与意大利、德国和英国的人类之间存在密切的牛分枝杆菌遗传关系。这些结果表明，摩洛哥与这些国家之间的动物贸易和人员流动可能在疾病传播中起作用。我们的研究受益于大样本量和丰富的数据集，该数据集包括来自摩洛哥及邻国的牛、野生动物和人类的序列，从而能够描绘出各国和宿主物种之间牛分枝杆菌的遗传联系。我们的研究呼吁对摩洛哥及其他国家的动物和人畜共患结核病传播进行进一步调查，这对于为未来动物与人类界面的结核病控制措施提供信息很重要。
