TB-characterization-paper

Here you find the data we used to quantify tuberculosis exposure, prevalence, and progression and the variation thereof in wild meerkats. For this study, I was joined by Alice Risely, Dominik Schmid, Marta Manser, Tim Clutton-Brock and Simone Sommer. We leverage the extended longterm dataset available within the Kalahari Meerkat Project to provide an overview over the impact tuberculosis had on the individual and population level. We find that the disease spread has markedly increased over the last two decades, with infections being a major contributor to meerkat death. Inter-individual variation in progression is high though, and a sizable proportion of individuals that are exposed do not progress to developing clinical signs of TB. We will adress the underlying mechanisms explaining this variation in future publications, so stay tuned! Here's the reference for the article: Nadine Müller-Klein et al. 2022, Two decades of tuberculosis surveillance reveal disease spread, high levels of exposure and mortality and marked variation in disease progression in wild meerkats, Transboundary and Emerging Diseases, DOI: 10.1111/tbed.14679