Mahmood K H, Stanford J L, Rook G A, Stuart F A, Pritchard D G, Brewer J I
Middlesex Hospital Medical School, School of Pathology, London.
Tubercle. 1987 Jun;68(2):119-25. doi: 10.1016/0041-3879(87)90027-4.
This study describes the immune responses of two defined badger populations; one from East Sussex and another from Staffordshire. The mean in vitro lymphoproliferative response, of all infected badgers from both areas, to Glaxo BCG, was significantly greater than that of healthy animals. The infected badgers had significantly higher antibody levels against mycobacterial antigens, especially New Tuberculin, than did the healthy animals. All the healthy and tuberculous badgers from the Staffordshire area were invariably unreactive to the various preparations used for skin-testing. However, in the East Sussex area, positive reactions were obtained in 10 out of 37 healthy and 7 out of 10 infected animals. This is the first account of positive skin tests in free living badgers. These results support the concept that badgers infected with bovine tubercle bacilli pass through an immunological spectrum throughout much of which they are unlikely to be important sources of infection. In the early stages, tubercle bacilli are excreted from infected wounds, whereas in the later stages, failure of cell-mediated immunity results in excretion of tubercle bacilli from other sites and the badger becomes a potent source of infection.
本研究描述了两个特定獾种群的免疫反应；一个来自东萨塞克斯郡，另一个来自斯塔福德郡。来自这两个地区的所有受感染獾对葛兰素卡介苗的平均体外淋巴细胞增殖反应显著高于健康动物。与健康动物相比，受感染的獾针对分枝杆菌抗原，尤其是新结核菌素的抗体水平显著更高。来自斯塔福德郡地区的所有健康和患结核病的獾对用于皮肤测试的各种制剂始终无反应。然而，在东萨塞克斯郡地区，37只健康动物中有10只以及10只受感染动物中有7只出现了阳性反应。这是关于自由生活的獾出现阳性皮肤测试的首次报道。这些结果支持了这样一种概念，即感染牛结核杆菌的獾会经历一个免疫过程，在这个过程的大部分时间里，它们不太可能是重要的传染源。在早期阶段，结核杆菌从受感染的伤口排出，而在后期阶段，细胞介导免疫功能的衰竭导致结核杆菌从其他部位排出，獾就成为了一个强大的传染源。
