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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Microbiology Spectrum

Genomic diversity of human-associated Mycobacterium bovis in Canada

  • Meenu K. Sharma1,2
  • Olga Andrievskaia3
  • Gregory J. Tyrrell4
  • Pierre-Marie Akochy5
  • Inna Sekirov6
  • Melissa Richard-Greenblatt7,8,9
  • Angela Ma7,8
  • Heather Adam10
  • Mohey Alawa11
  • Elizabeth Simms12
  • Md Rashedul Islam1
  • Melissa Rabb1
1 more authors
  • Hafid Soualhine1,2,13
13 affiliations
  1. 1National Reference Centre for Mycobacteriology, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
  2. 2Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
  3. 3National Reference Laboratory for Bovine Tuberculosis, Ottawa Animal Health Laboratory, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
  4. 4Division of Diagnostic and Applied Microbiology, Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Alberta and Alberta Precision Laboratories, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
  5. 5Laboratoire de santé publique du Québec, INSPQ, Québec City, Canada
  6. 6Public Health Laboratory, BC Centre for Disease Control, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
  7. 7Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  8. 8Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
  9. 9Department of Pediatric Laboratory Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada
  10. 10Shared Health, Health Sciences Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
  11. 11Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
  12. 12Provincial Public Health Laboratory, Nova Scotia, Canada
  13. 13McGill International TB Research Centre, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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Abstract

Human infections caused by Mycobacterium bovis in Canada are not well documented. The following study analyzed M. bovis (excluding BCG) isolates identified in public health laboratories across Canadian provinces between 2000 and 2025. Whole-genome sequencing was used to catalog mutations linked to antimicrobial resistance and evaluate the genomic relatedness of isolates. The majority of samples in this study were non-respiratory (60%). Of 74 study isolates, 69 (93%) were phenotypically sensitive to first-line drugs isoniazid, rifampin, and ethambutol. The most frequently encountered M. bovis clusters belonged to M. tuberculosis complex lineages La 1.7 and La 1.8. Although some isolates showed phylogenetic clustering, their lack of spatial and temporal relatedness suggested sporadic cases rather than local M. bovis transmission. Of all first-line drugs evaluated, isoniazid showed the lowest concordance (94.4%) between phenotypic and genotypic methods. The isolates in this study harbor some mutations that are not currently documented in the WHO mutation catalog, indicating that these variants may be rare. The findings suggest that the prevalence of M. bovis infection in Canada is low with cases unlikely to be acquired through human-to-human transmission.

IMPORTANCE: Incidence of human infections due to Mycobacterium bovis in Canada is largely unknown as these data are not collected or annually published. This research is a first effort to identify historical M. bovis isolates that were available for culture, had drug susceptibility testing data, and were analyzed through whole-genome sequencing. The annual reporting of these data in Canada holds value.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{sharma2026genomic,
  title = {{Genomic diversity of human-associated Mycobacterium bovis in Canada}},
  author = {Meenu K. Sharma and Olga Andrievskaia and Gregory J. Tyrrell and Pierre-Marie Akochy and Inna Sekirov and Melissa Richard-Greenblatt and Angela Ma and Heather Adam and Mohey Alawa and Elizabeth Simms and Md Rashedul Islam and Melissa Rabb and Hafid Soualhine},
  journal = {Microbiology Spectrum},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1128/spectrum.01485-26},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.01485-26},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Genomic diversity of human-associated Mycobacterium bovis in Canada
AU  - Meenu K. Sharma
AU  - Olga Andrievskaia
AU  - Gregory J. Tyrrell
AU  - Pierre-Marie Akochy
AU  - Inna Sekirov
AU  - Melissa Richard-Greenblatt
AU  - Angela Ma
AU  - Heather Adam
AU  - Mohey Alawa
AU  - Elizabeth Simms
AU  - Md Rashedul Islam
AU  - Melissa Rabb
AU  - Hafid Soualhine
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/13
JO  - Microbiology Spectrum
DO  - 10.1128/spectrum.01485-26
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.01485-26
AB  - Human infections caused by Mycobacterium bovis in Canada are not well documented. The following study analyzed M. bovis (excluding BCG) isolates identified in public health laboratories across Canadian provinces between 2000 and 2025. Whole-genome sequencing was used to catalog mutations linked to antimicrobial resistance and evaluate the genomic relatedness of isolates. The majority of samples in this study were non-respiratory (60%). Of 74 study isolates, 69 (93%) were phenotypically sensitive to first-line drugs isoniazid, rifampin, and ethambutol. The most frequently encountered M. bovis clusters belonged to M. tuberculosis complex lineages La 1.7 and La 1.8. Although some isolates showed phylogenetic clustering, their lack of spatial and temporal relatedness suggested sporadic cases rather than local M. bovis transmission. Of all first-line drugs evaluated, isoniazid showed the lowest concordance (94.4%) between phenotypic and genotypic methods. The isolates in this study harbor some mutations that are not currently documented in the WHO mutation catalog, indicating that these variants may be rare. The findings suggest that the prevalence of M. bovis infection in Canada is low with cases unlikely to be acquired through human-to-human transmission.  IMPORTANCE: Incidence of human infections due to Mycobacterium bovis in Canada is largely unknown as these data are not collected or annually published. This research is a first effort to identify historical M. bovis isolates that were available for culture, had drug susceptibility testing data, and were analyzed through whole-genome sequencing. The annual reporting of these data in Canada holds value.
SN  - 2165-0497
ER  -