Lack of routine surveillance in countries endemic for bovine tuberculosis (tB) and limited laboratory support contributes to the inability to differentiate the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex species, leading to an underestimated burden of the disease. Here, Whole-Genome Sequencing of Mycobacterium bovis isolated from tissues with TB-like lesions obtained from cattle and buffalos at Marajó Island, Brazil, demonstrates that recent transmission of M. bovis is ongoing at distinct sites. Moreover, the M. bovis epidemiology in this setting is herein found to be dominated by an endemic and unique clade composed of strains evolved from a common ancestor that are now genetically differentiated from other M. bovis clades. Additionally, envisioning a rapid strain differentiation and tracing across multiple settings, 28 globally validated strain-specific SNPs were identified, three of which considered as robust markers for the M. bovis Marajó strain. In conclusion, this study contributes with data regarding the identification of a novel M. bovis phylogenetic clade responsible for ongoing transmission events in both cattle and buffalo species in Brazil, provides a framework to investigate the dissemination of this highly prevalent strain and, holds the potential to inform TB control strategies that may help to prevent the spread of bovine and zoonotic TB. Tuberculosis (TB) is a worldwide important infectious disease in humans and other animals resulting in substantial morbidity and mortality caused by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex (MTBC) pathogens 1,2. Among these, Mycobacterium bovis is the main etiological agent of bovine TB (bTB) in herds and is associated with a decreased livestock productivity due to early disposal of animals of high zootechnical value with subsequent economic impact 3. The impact of bTB and M. bovis is not only restricted to economic aspects of livestock production. Although the economic losses can ascend to, e.g., US$18 200 in a single region as reported for Makurdi in Nigeria

No abstract

Molecular-typing can help in unraveling epidemiological scenarios and improvement for disease control strategies. A literature review of Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission in Brazil through genotyping on 56 studies published from 1996-2019 was performed. The clustering rate for mycobacterial interspersed repetitive units - variable tandem repeats (MIRU-VNTR) of 1,613 isolates were: 73%, 33% and 28% based on 12, 15 and 24-loci, respectively; while for RFLP-IS 6110 were: 84% among prison population in Rio de Janeiro, 69% among multidrug-resistant isolates in Rio Grande do Sul, and 56.2% in general population in São Paulo. These findings could improve tuberculosis (TB) surveillance and set up a solid basis to build a database of Mycobacterium genomes.