Having entered into its second century, the eradication program for bovine tuberculosis (bTB, caused by Mycobacterium bovis) in the United States of America occupies a position both enviable and daunting. Excepting four counties in Michigan comprising only 6109 km2 (0.06% of US land area) classified as Modified Accredited, as of April 2022 the entire country was considered Accredited Free of bTB by the US Department of Agriculture for cattle and bison. On the surface, the now well-described circumstances of endemic bTB in Michigan, where white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) serve as a free-ranging wildlife maintenance host, may appear to be the principal remaining barrier to national eradication. However, the situation there is unique in the U.S., and far-removed from the broader issues of bTB control in the remainder of the country. In Michigan, extensive surveillance for bTB in deer over the last quarter century, and regulatory measures to maximize the harvest of publicly-owned wildlife, have been implemented and sustained. Prevalence of bTB in deer has remained at a low level, although not sufficiently low to eliminate cattle herd infections. Public attitudes towards bTB, cattle and deer, and their relative importance, have been more influential in the management of the disease than any limitations of biological science. However, profound changes in the demographics and social attitudes of Michigan’s human population are underway, changes which are likely to force a critical reevaluation of the bTB control strategies thus far considered integral. In the rest of the U.S. where bTB is not self-sustaining in wildlife, changes in the scale of cattle production, coupled with both technical and non-technical issues have created their own substantial challenges. It is against this diverse backdrop that the evolution of whole genome sequencing of M. bovis has revolutionized understanding of the history and ecology of bTB in Michigan, resolved previously undiscernible epidemiological puzzles, provided insights into zoonotic transmission, and unified eradication efforts across species and agencies. We describe the current status of bTB eradication in the U.S., how circumstances and management have changed, what has been learned, and what remains more elusive than ever.

中文翻译：

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你认识的魔鬼和你不认识的魔鬼：美国根除牛结核病的现状和挑战

美国的牛结核病（bTB，由牛分枝杆菌引起）根除计划已进入第二个世纪，其地位既令人羡慕又令人畏惧。除密歇根州仅 6109 平方公里（占美国土地面积的 0.06%）的 4 个县被列为修改认证外，截至 2022 年 4 月，整个国家均被美国农业部认定为牛和野牛无 bTB 认证。从表面上看，密歇根州地方性bTB的情况现在已得到充分描述，其中白尾鹿（Odocoileus virginianus）作为自由放养的野生动物维持宿主，可能似乎是全国根除的主要剩余障碍。然而，美国的情况是独一无二的，与该国其他地区更广泛的结核病控制问题相去甚远。在密歇根州，过去四分之一个世纪以来，对鹿的 bTB 进行了广泛的监测，并采取了监管措施，以最大限度地提高公有野生动物的收获。鹿中 bTB 的患病率仍处于较低水平，但还不足以消除牛群感染。公众对牛结核病、牛和鹿的态度及其相对重要性，对疾病管理的影响比生物科学的任何限制都大。然而，密歇根州人口的人口统计和社会态度正在发生深刻的变化，这些变化可能会迫使人们对迄今为止被视为不可或缺的 bTB 控制策略进行批判性的重新评估。在美国其他地区，bTB 在野生动物中无法自我维持，牛生产规模的变化，加上技术和非技术问题，都带来了巨大的挑战。正是在这种多样化的背景下，牛分枝杆菌全基因组测序的进化彻底改变了对密歇根州 bTB 历史和生态的理解，解决了以前难以辨别的流行病学难题，提供了对人畜共患传播的见解，并统一了跨物种和机构的根除工作。我们描述了美国根除 bTB 的现状、情况和管理发生了怎样的变化、所学到的知识以及比以往任何时候都更加难以捉摸的知识。