Ferrets as a model for tuberculosis transmission

Tuhina Gupta, Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States.
Naveen Somanna, Molecular Analytics R&D, GlaxoSmithKline Vaccines, Rockville, MD, United States.
Thomas Rowe, Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States.
Monica LaGatta, Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States.
Shelly Helms, Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States.
Simon Odera Owino, Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States.
Tomislav Jelesijevic, Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, United States.
Stephen Harvey, Animal Resources Program, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States.
Wayne Jacobs, Animal Resources Program, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States.
Thomas Voss, Merck Research Laboratories, West Point, PA, United States.
Kaori Sakamoto, Department of Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States.
Cheryl Day, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States.
Christopher Whalen, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Public Health, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States.
Russell Karls, Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States.
Biao He, Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States.
S Mark Tompkins, Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States.
Abhijeet Bakre, Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States.
Ted Ross, Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States.
Frederick D. Quinn, Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2022

Abstract

Even with the COVID-19 pandemic, tuberculosis remains a leading cause of human death due to a single infectious agent. Until successfully treated, infected individuals may continue to transmit bacilli to contacts. As with other respiratory pathogens, such as SARS-CoV-2, modeling the process of person-to-person transmission will inform efforts to develop vaccines and therapies that specifically impede disease transmission. The ferret (), a relatively inexpensive, small animal has been successfully employed to model transmissibility, pathogenicity, and tropism of influenza and other respiratory disease agents. Ferrets can become naturally infected with and are closely related to badgers, well known in Great Britain and elsewhere as a natural transmission vehicle for bovine tuberculosis. Herein, we report results of a study demonstrating that within 7 weeks of intratracheal infection with a high dose (>5 x 10 CFU) of bacilli, ferrets develop clinical signs and pathological features similar to acute disease reported in larger animals, and ferrets infected with very-high doses (>5 x 10 CFU) develop severe signs within two to four weeks, with loss of body weight as high as 30%. Natural transmission of this pathogen was also examined. Acutely-infected ferrets transmitted bacilli to co-housed naïve sentinels; most of the sentinels tested positive for in nasal washes, while several developed variable disease symptomologies similar to those reported for humans exposed to an active tuberculosis patient in a closed setting. Transmission was more efficient when the transmitting animal had a well-established acute infection. The findings support further assessment of this model system for tuberculosis transmission including the testing of prevention measures and vaccine efficacy.

Publication Source (Journal or Book title)

Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology

First Page

873416

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