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Korea's first case of bovine tuberculosis in a human confirmed by health authorities

Published: 17 Apr. 2025, 14:39 Updated: 17 Apr. 2025, 19:28

Cows are seen at a farm in Gangwon in Aug. 4, 2024. [YONHAP]

The first case of bovine tuberculosis has been confirmed in a human in Korea, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced Thursday.

A joint research team from the KDCA’s Tuberculosis Policy and Diagnostic Analysis Division had confirmed the transmission of bovine tuberculosis, also known as Mycobacterium bovis, in the case of a man in his 50s who was diagnosed with tuberculosis in January last year.

The findings were published in the latest issue of Osong Public Health and Research Perspectives, an international journal in the field of public health.

Historically, bovine tuberculosis has often been transmitted to humans through the consumption of unpasteurized milk or dairy products.

There were 138 confirmed human cases of bovine tuberculosis across the European Union in 2023 according to a One Health zoonotic disease report by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) the same year.

The World Health Organization (WHO) also reported in its global tuberculosis report that of the newly diagnosed tuberculosis cases in 2019, approximately 140,000 cases, or 1.4 percent, were zoonotic, with about 11,400 deaths, or 8.1 percent, attributed to those infections.

A quarantine team sets up entry control and disinfection measures at a farm in Muan, South Jeolla, on April 15. [NEWS1]

However, due to the absence of a zoonotic tuberculosis surveillance system in Korea, there had been no reported cases of human bovine tuberculosis infections in the country until now.

The first confirmed patient in Korea was suspected of having tuberculosis in January 2023 after undergoing a chest X-ray for rheumatoid disease at a university hospital, according to the KDCA. He was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis two months later.

Upon diagnosis, local health authorities classified him as a high-risk individual for zoonotic tuberculosis due to his 20-year career in a veterinary laboratory, where he handled blood sample separation and histopathological examinations. His positive culture test results were reported to the KDCA.

Epidemiological investigations revealed that the patient consistently wore disposable gloves and gowns to minimize exposure to animal fluids and prevent injuries from needles or scalpels, though he had previously experienced a needlestick incident.

The KDCA noted, however, that because the incubation period for tuberculosis varies depending on an individual’s immune status, the precise time of infection remains unclear.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.

BY JEONG JAE-HONG [[email protected]]