Could your cat give you TB?

Many house cats are getting infected with a lethal form of tuberculosis, which is generally found in cattle and badgers, a new study has revealed.

The study has raised concerns that one in a thousand could be carrying the mycobacteria, a much higher number than what was originally determined, the Daily Express reported.

The exploration-loving felines can catch the disease while roaming the countryside badger setts or while making contact with infected rodents and cattle or contaminated milk.

Professor Danielle Gunn-Moore, who led the research team from Edinburgh University, said that the potential incidence of feline mycobacteriosis is higher than previously thought.

She asserted that her biggest concern is that spilling over from cattle and badgers into cats, and poses a risk to cats.

She said that they saw about one per cent of samples sent to labs infected with mycobacterium, which is scary.

Gunn-Moore insisted that is why they are keen to raise awareness so vets can look out for it.

Former president of the British Veterinary Association, Carl Padgett, said that cats with TB tend to have close contact with humans and that is where you ramp up a degree of public health risk through direct contact with cats that have TB.

The study was published in the latest edition of the journal Transboundary and Emerging Diseases.