P101

1:National Reference Laboratory for Animal Tuberculosis, Department for Bacteriology and Parasitology, Croatian Veterinary Institute, Zagreb, Croatia; 2:National/Supranational Reference Laboratory for Tuberculosis, Croatian Institute of Public Health, Zagreb, Croatia; 3:University of Zagreb, School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia

Zoonotic tuberculosis cases in the EU and Croatia are mainly limited to the species Mycobacterium (M.) bovis and M. caprae. The primary sources of infection are unpasteurized dairy products and occupational exposure in slaughterhouses and diagnostic laboratories. Companion animals, especially dogs, become infected through direct or indirect contact with infected humans and can pass on Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the main causative agent of tuberculosis in humans. The Croatian National Reference Laboratory for Animal tuberculosis has detected M. tuberculosis infection in two cattle (2008 and 2010) and two dogs (2006 and 2018) in the last 20 years. Both cases were diagnosed in cattle through the national control program based on annual tuberculin skin tests. Tuberculosis in dogs was incidentally diagnosed following a fatal outcome after non-tuberculosis related long-term therapy.The epidemiological facts in all four cases followed a different scenario, indicating different sources and routes of infection. The identification of unique strains in cattle and dogs could be related to a new global socioeconomic era and health risks linked to intensive human migration, suggesting that public health resources are unprepared or unable to address preventive control of tuberculosis in economic migrants. Also, often misdiagnoses of clinical tuberculosis, particularly in companion animals, are a dangerous result of public unawareness. These facts pose a big challenge for disease control, as they indicate potential cross-species transmission and the need for more comprehensive surveillance and control measures.