Cross-Sectional Study on Swine Tuberculosis Prevalence in Gansu
Province, China from February to June 2021
Abstract
Summary: Tuberculosis (TB), caused by the Mycobacterium
tuberculosis complex (MTBC), poses a major global threat to the health
of humans and animals. The Suidae family is highly susceptible to TB and
is used as screening sentinels for testing the presence of MTBC in the
environment, but swine TB (STB) tends to be neglected worldwide. China
has the largest pig population in the world, but epidemiological
information on STB is scarce. In this study, 1379 serum samples were
randomly collected from 45 herds of Gansu province, China from February
to June 2021 and tested with PPD-B-ELISA. The STB prevalence at
individual level was 0.22% (95% CI: 0.04%, 0.63%) and varied from
0.00% to 2.20% in different cities. The prevalence at herd level was
4.44% (95% CI: 0.54%, 15.15%) and varied from 0.00% to 33.33% in
different cities. The STB prevalence in intensively raised
three-crossbred pigs (0.23%, 95% CI: 0.05%, 0.68%) was higher than
that in free-range raised Tibetan pigs (0.00%, 95% CI: 0.00%, 3.85%)
( p = 0.81). Besides, 180 serum samples were collected from
Guangxi province, China, and STB prevalence in Guangxi province (1.67%,
95% CI: 0.35%, 4.79%) was significantly higher than that in Gansu
province ( p < 0.05). These latest STB prevalence data
are strongly suggested to conduct a randomized nationwide
cross-sectional study on a regular basis for the development of an
effective national program for STB surveillance and control.