Accordingly, there is evidence for the persistence of M. bovis in soil. M. bovis mycobacteria have been recovered
from soil specimens after the experimental inoculation of soils (Duffield & Young, 1985; Fine et al., 2011), as well as from soils naturally infected by the excreta of various mammal species (Young et al., 2005). Whether survival in
soil occurs for the other MTC species is unknown and has not been well studied