The increase in badger (Meles meles) density at Woodchester Park, south-west England : a review of the implications for disease (Mycobacterium bovis) prevalence

Mammalia ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
L.M. ROGERS ◽  
R.J. DELAHAY ◽  
C.L. CHEESEMAN ◽  
G.G. SMITH ◽  
R.S. CLIFTON-HADLEY
Keyword(s):  
Mycobacterium Bovis ◽  
Meles Meles ◽  
South West ◽  
South West England

scholarly journals The occurrence of Mycobacterium bovis infection in cattle in and around an area subject to extensive badger (Meles meles) control

1995 ◽  
Vol 114 (1) ◽  
pp. 179-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. S. Clifton-Hadley ◽  
J. W. Wilesmith ◽  
M. S. Richards ◽  
P. Upton ◽  
S. Johnston
Keyword(s):  
Mycobacterium Bovis ◽  
Proportional Hazards ◽  
Meles Meles ◽  
The Other ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Total Clearance ◽  
Proportional Hazards Regression ◽  
South West ◽  
Cattle Herds ◽  
South West England

SUMMARYThe occurrence of Mycobacterium bovis infection in cattle herds during the period 1966–92 in two geographically related areas in South-West England is compared. In one area comprising 104 km2 all badgers were systematically destroyed from 1975–81, after which recolonization was allowed; in the other, comprising 116 km2, small scale, statutory badger removal operations were undertaken from 1975 onwards where specific herds were detected with M. bovis infection. In the area with total clearance, no further incidents with M. bovis isolation occurred from 1982–92. Survival analysis and proportional hazards regression indicated that the risk of herds being identified with infection was less once badgers had been cleared from their neighbourhood, whereas it was greater in herds with 50 or more animals, and once cattle in a herd had responded positively to the tuberculin skin test, even though infection with M. bovis was not confirmed subsequently. The study provides further evidence that badgers represent an important reservoir of M. bovis infection for cattle and that badger control is effective in reducing incidents of cattle infection with M. bovis if action is thorough and recolonization is prevented.

scholarly journals Quantifying the risks of TB infection to cattle posed by badger excreta

1999 ◽  
Vol 122 (1) ◽  
pp. 167-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. R. HUTCHINGS ◽  
S. HARRIS
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Mycobacterium Bovis ◽  
Disease Prevalence ◽  
Deterministic Approach ◽  
Main Route ◽  
South West ◽  
Route Of Transmission ◽  
Risk Areas ◽  
High Level ◽  
South West England

Despite strong circumstantial evidence to suggest that the main route of TB transmission from badgers to cattle is via contaminated badger excreta, it is unclear whether the associated risks are high enough to account for the prevalence of the disease in south-west England. To decide whether this was a viable route of transmission, cattle contact with badger excreta was investigated using a deterministic approach to quantify the risks to cattle posed by badger excreta. Levels of investigative and grazing contacts between cattle and badger urine and faeces could each account for the disease prevalence in south-west England. An infection probability of 3·7×10−4 per bite from pasture contaminated with badger urine infected with Mycobacterium bovis could account for the prevalence of TB in cattle in south-west England. Infection probabilities of 6·9×10−7 per investigation and 1·1×10−7 per bite from badger latrines could each account for the prevalence of TB in cattle in the south-west. When considering only the high risk areas of south-west England these bounds fell by a factor of eight. However, badger excreta may still constitute a high level of risk to cattle. The levels of cattle contact with badger excreta are far higher than previously thought, suggesting that it is the probability of infection per given contact with infected badger excreta which has the greater influence on the probability of transmission and not the level of contact. The infection probability per cattle contact with infected badger excreta is in all likelihood extremely low.

scholarly journals Inferring Mycobacterium bovis transmission between cattle and badgers using isolates from the Randomised Badger Culling Trial

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (11) ◽  
pp. e1010075
Author(s):  
Andries J. van Tonder ◽  
Mark J. Thornton ◽  
Andrew J. K. Conlan ◽  
Keith A. Jolley ◽  
Lee Goolding ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mycobacterium Bovis ◽  
Bovine Tuberculosis ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Cattle Industry ◽  
Cattle Movement ◽  
Badger Culling ◽  
Movement Data ◽  
South West ◽  
Different Parts ◽  
South West England

Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) is a causative agent of bovine tuberculosis, a significant source of morbidity and mortality in the global cattle industry. The Randomised Badger Culling Trial was a field experiment carried out between 1998 and 2005 in the South West of England. As part of this trial, M. bovis isolates were collected from contemporaneous and overlapping populations of badgers and cattle within ten defined trial areas. We combined whole genome sequences from 1,442 isolates with location and cattle movement data, identifying transmission clusters and inferred rates and routes of transmission of M. bovis. Most trial areas contained a single transmission cluster that had been established shortly before sampling, often contemporaneous with the expansion of bovine tuberculosis in the 1980s. The estimated rate of transmission from badger to cattle was approximately two times higher than from cattle to badger, and the rate of within-species transmission considerably exceeded these for both species. We identified long distance transmission events linked to cattle movement, recurrence of herd breakdown by infection within the same transmission clusters and superspreader events driven by cattle but not badgers. Overall, our data suggests that the transmission clusters in different parts of South West England that are still evident today were established by long-distance seeding events involving cattle movement, not by recrudescence from a long-established wildlife reservoir. Clusters are maintained primarily by within-species transmission, with less frequent spill-over both from badger to cattle and cattle to badger.

Defecation and urination patterns of badgers Meles meles at low density in south west England

2001 ◽  
Vol 46 ◽  
pp. 87-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael R. Hutchings ◽  
Katrina M. Service ◽  
Stephen Harris
Keyword(s):  
Meles Meles ◽  
Low Density ◽  
South West ◽  
South West England

Effects of roads on badger Meles meles populations in south-west England

1998 ◽  
Vol 86 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.Philip Clarke ◽  
Piran C.L White ◽  
Stephen Harris
Keyword(s):  
Meles Meles ◽  
South West ◽  
South West England

scholarly journals Inferring Mycobacterium bovis transmission between cattle and badgers using isolates from the Randomised Badger Culling Trial

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andries J van Tonder ◽  
Mark Thornton ◽  
Andrew JK Conlan ◽  
Keith A Jolley ◽  
Lee Goolding ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mycobacterium Bovis ◽  
Bovine Tuberculosis ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Cattle Industry ◽  
Cattle Movement ◽  
Badger Culling ◽  
Movement Data ◽  
South West ◽  
Different Parts ◽  
South West England

Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) is a causative agent of bovine tuberculosis, a significant source of morbidity and mortality in the global cattle industry. The Randomised Badger Culling Trial was a field experiment carried out between 1998 and 2005 in the South West of England. As part of this trial, M. bovis isolates were collected from contemporaneous and overlapping populations of badgers and cattle within ten defined trial areas. We combined whole genome sequences from 1,442 isolates with location and cattle movement data, identifying transmission clusters and inferred rates and routes of transmission of M. bovis. Most trial areas contained a single transmission cluster that had been established shortly before sampling, often contemporaneous with the expansion of bovine tuberculosis in the 1980s. The estimated rate of transmission from badger to cattle was approximately two times higher than from cattle to badger, and the rate of within-species transmission considerably exceeded these for both species. We identified long distance transmission events linked to cattle movement, recurrence of herd breakdown by infection within the same transmission clusters and superspreader events driven by cattle but not badgers. Overall, our data suggests that the transmission clusters in different parts of South West England that are still evident today were established by long-distance seeding events involving cattle movement, not by recrudescence from a long-established wildlife reservoir. Clusters are maintained primarily by within-species transmission, with less frequent spill-over both from badger to cattle and cattle to badger.

TBE in United Kingdom

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Clinical Disease ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Probable Case ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
South West ◽  
Louping Ill ◽  
The Uk ◽  
North And South ◽  
South West England

Until 2019, TBE was considered only to be an imported disease to the United Kingdom. In that year, evidence became available that the TBEV is likely circulating in the country1,2 and a first “probable case” of TBE originating in the UK was reported.3 In addition to TBEV, louping ill virus (LIV), a member of the TBEV-serocomplex, is also endemic in parts of the UK. Reports of clinical disease caused by LIV in livestock are mainly from Scotland, parts of North and South West England and Wales.4

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