Wildlife Health Program, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, 5463-C West Broadway, Forest Lake, MN 55025, USA.
Vet Microbiol. 2011 Jul 5;151(1-2):200-4. doi: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2011.02.046. Epub 2011 Feb 24.
When bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is detected in free-ranging wildlife populations, preventing geographic spread and the establishment of a wildlife reservoir requires rapid, often aggressive response. Public tolerance can exert a significant effect on potential control measures available to managers, and thus on the success of disease management efforts. Separate outbreaks of bTB in free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in two midwestern states provide a case study. In Minnesota, bTB was first discovered in cattle in 2005 and subsequently in deer. To date, 12 beef cattle farms and 26 white-tailed deer have been found infected with the disease. From 2005 to 2008, disease prevalence in deer has decreased from 0.4% (SE=0.2%) to <0.1% and remained confined to a small (<425 km(2)) geographic area. Deer population reduction through liberalized hunting and targeted culling by ground sharpshooting and aerial gunning, combined with a prohibition on baiting and recreational feeding, have likely been major drivers preventing disease spread thus far. Without support from cattle producers, deer hunters and the general public, as well as politicians, implementation of these aggressive strategies by state and federal authorities would not have been possible. In contrast, Michigan first discovered bovine bTB in free-ranging deer in 1975, and disease management efforts were not instituted until 1995. The first infected cattle herd was diagnosed in 1998. Since 1995, disease prevalence in free-ranging deer has decreased from 4.9% to 1.8% in the ∼ 1500 km(2) core outbreak area. Culture positive deer have been found as far as 188 km from the core area. Liberalized harvest and restrictions on baiting and feeding have facilitated substantial reductions in prevalence. However, there has been little support on the part of hunters, farmers or the general public for more aggressive population reduction measures such as culling, and compliance with baiting and feeding restrictions has been variable and often problematic. We compare and contrast the Minnesota and Michigan outbreaks with respect to temporal, social, economic, and logistical factors that shape public attitudes toward aggressive disease control strategies, the limitations these factors place on management, and the implications for bTB eradication from wildlife reservoirs in the U.S.
当牛型结核（bTB）在野生动物种群中被检测到时，防止其在地理上的传播和建立野生动物储存库需要快速、通常是积极的反应。公众的容忍度会对管理者可采用的潜在控制措施产生重大影响，从而影响疾病管理工作的成功。美国中西部两个州的自由放养白尾鹿（Odocoileus virginianus）的单独暴发为这一情况提供了一个案例研究。在明尼苏达州，2005 年首次在牛群中发现 bTB，随后在鹿群中也发现了该疾病。迄今为止，已有 12 个肉牛养殖场和 26 头白尾鹿被发现感染了该疾病。从 2005 年到 2008 年，鹿的疾病流行率从 0.4%（SE=0.2%）下降到<0.1%，并且仍然局限于一个较小的（<425 平方公里）地理区域。通过自由猎鹿和有针对性的地面射击和空中射击进行的鹿群数量减少，加上禁止诱饵和娱乐性喂养，这些可能是迄今为止阻止疾病传播的主要驱动因素。如果没有牛场主、猎鹿者和公众以及政客的支持，州和联邦当局实施这些积极的策略是不可能的。相比之下，密歇根州于 1975 年首次在自由放养的鹿群中发现了牛型结核，直到 1995 年才开始实施疾病管理工作。第一例受感染的牛群于 1998 年被诊断出来。自 1995 年以来，在核心暴发区约 1500 平方公里的范围内，自由放养的鹿的疾病流行率从 4.9%下降到 1.8%。在距离核心区 188 公里的地方发现了 culture 阳性鹿。自由猎鹿以及对诱饵和喂养的限制已经使流行率显著降低。然而，猎鹿者、农民或公众对更积极的种群减少措施（如扑杀）几乎没有支持，并且对诱饵和喂养限制的遵守情况各不相同，而且经常存在问题。我们比较和对比了明尼苏达州和密歇根州的暴发情况，分析了塑造公众对积极疾病控制策略的态度的时间、社会、经济和后勤因素，以及这些因素对管理的限制，以及对美国野生动物储存库中 bTB 根除的影响。
