WGS of Mycobacterium bovis strains isolated from infected animals -deer, cattle, other captive wildlife- where deer breeding is suspected to be the origin of the infectious agent dissemination. Investigation of Mycobacterium bovis infection in a deer-borne transmission network

Bovine tuberculosis (TB) is a zoonotic disease, mainly due to Mycobacterium bovis. France has been declared officially TB free since 2001, however the disease persists in livestock and wildlife. Deer are particularly susceptible to bovine TB. Here, a WGS analysis was performed on strains with the same genetic profile (spoligotype and MLVA) isolated from different type of outbreaks (deer or cattle herds, zoological or hunting parks) where the presence of infected deer was a common trait in most of them. Two sub-clusters co-exist in France, one related to deer breeding raised as livestock and the other one to hunting parks and zoos. The persistence of sporadic cases due to strains belonging to these clusters over almost 30 years highlights the deficiency in surveillance of captive wildlife and the need for better monitoring animals especially before movement between parks or herds.