Donnelly Christl A, Woodroffe Rosie, Cox D R, Bourne John, Gettinby George, Le Fevre Andrea M, McInerney John P, Morrison W Ivan
Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB, c/o Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, 1A Page Street, London SW1P 4PQ, UK.
Nature. 2003 Dec 18;426(6968):834-7. doi: 10.1038/nature02192. Epub 2003 Nov 23.
Pathogens that are transmitted between wildlife, livestock and humans present major challenges for the protection of human and animal health, the economic sustainability of agriculture, and the conservation of wildlife. Mycobacterium bovis, the aetiological agent of bovine tuberculosis (TB), is one such pathogen. The incidence of TB in cattle has increased substantially in parts of Great Britain in the past two decades, adversely affecting the livelihoods of cattle farmers and potentially increasing the risks of human exposure. The control of bovine TB in Great Britain is complicated by the involvement of wildlife, particularly badgers (Meles meles), which appear to sustain endemic infection and can transmit TB to cattle. Between 1975 and 1997 over 20,000 badgers were culled as part of British TB control policy, generating conflict between conservation and farming interest groups. Here we present results from a large-scale field trial that indicate that localized badger culling not only fails to control but also seems to increase TB incidence in cattle.
在野生动物、家畜和人类之间传播的病原体，对保护人类和动物健康、农业的经济可持续性以及野生动物保护构成了重大挑战。牛分枝杆菌是牛结核病（TB）的病原体，就是这样一种病原体。在过去二十年中，英国部分地区牛结核病的发病率大幅上升，对养牛户的生计产生了不利影响，并可能增加人类接触的风险。英国牛结核病的控制因野生动物的参与而变得复杂，尤其是獾，它们似乎维持着地方性感染，并能将结核病传播给牛。1975年至1997年间，超过20000只獾被扑杀，作为英国结核病控制政策的一部分，这引发了保护和农业利益集团之间的冲突。在此，我们展示了一项大规模田间试验的结果，该结果表明，局部扑杀獾不仅无法控制，反而似乎会增加牛群中结核病的发病率。
