11. Economic impact

Economic losses due to tuberculosis in cattle worldwide are estimated at more than US \$3 billion annually [74]. This may be an underestimate since losses in many developing countries have not been examined sufficiently or studied at all. Loss of productivity of infected animals includes reduced milk yields, meat production, and reduced fertility. Among dairy cattle, milk production may decrease between 4 and 18%. Other direct losses include mortalities, infertility, calf mortalities, additional processing for infected animals, and condemnation of carcasses at slaughterhouses. Export market restrictions constitute nontariff barriers to trade. The cost of control involves meat inspection, test and slaughter of positive animals, pasteurization of milk, and compensation schemes to farmers. The public health cost include cost of treatment, mortality, loss of incomes and livelihoods, food insecurity, stigmatization as well as extra working hours for those attending to sick humans [75, 76]. Globally, 147,000 new cases of zoonotic TB in humans were estimated in 2016, resulting in 12,500 deaths. Most of the cases were in the African followed by the South-East Asian region [43].
