biostudies-literatureRamanujam HUS National Institutes of HealthForeign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the United KingdomNIAID NIH HHSIndian Council of Medical ResearchPennsylvania Agricultural Experiment StationHuck Institutes of the Life SciencesBill and Melinda Gates Foundationofae733https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC11736417biostudies-literatureUnknown12(1)<h4>Background</h4>India has the highest global burden of human tuberculosis (TB) and the largest cattle herd with endemic bovine TB (bTB). However, the extent of cross-species transmission and the zoonotic spillover risk, including drug-resistant <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i> complex (MTBC) strains circulating in cattle, remain uncharacterized.<h4>Methods</h4>To address this major knowledge gap, we investigated tissue samples from 500 apparently healthy cattle at a slaughterhouse in Chennai, India. Whole genome sequencing was performed to characterize the isolates.<h4>Results</h4>Sixteen animals (32 per 1000 [95% confidence interval, 16-47]) were MTBC-positive, a rate that is nearly an order of magnitude greater than the reported human TB incidence in the region. Thirteen isolates werOpen forum infectious diseasesRecovery of &lt;i&gt;Mycobacterium tuberculosis&lt;/i&gt; Complex Isolates Including Pre-Extensively Drug-Resistant Strains From Cattle at a Slaughterhouse in Chennai, India.PMC11736417R01 AI170753ZON/41/2019/ECD-IIINV-0550791R01A1170753-01A1Palanisamy MShanmugavel AKandasamy DRadhakrishnan ARavi NRefaya AKRadhika GShanmugam SStuber TPRavi RThiruvengadam KRamanujam HKapur VPalaniyandi KPazhanivel NfalseRecovery of &lt;i&gt;Mycobacterium tuberculosis&lt;/i&gt; Complex Isolates Including Pre-Extensively Drug-Resistant Strains From Cattle at a Slaughterhouse in Chennai, India.<h4>Background</h4>India has the highest global burden of human tuberculosis (TB) and the largest cattle herd with endemic bovine TB (bTB). However, the extent of cross-species transmission and the zoonotic spillover risk, including drug-resistant <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i> complex (MTBC) strains circulating in cattle, remain uncharacterized.<h4>Methods</h4>To address this major knowledge gap, we investigated tissue samples from 500 apparently healthy cattle at a slaughterhouse in Chennai, India. Whole genome sequencing was performed to characterize the isolates.<h4>Results</h4>Sixteen animals (32 per 1000 [95% confidence interval, 16-47]) were MTBC-positive, a rate that is nearly an order of magnitude greater than the reported human TB incidence in the region. Thirteen isolates wer2025-01-01T00:00:00Z2025 Jan2025-04-25T18:54:25.222Z2025-04-06T07:45:26.735ZS-EPMC117364173982227010.1093/ofid/ofae733