Veterinary Epidemiology Unit, Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.
Veterinary Sciences Division, Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.
Vet Rec. 2021 Sep;189(5):e248. doi: 10.1002/vetr.248. Epub 2021 Apr 19.
In the British Isles, it is generally accepted that the Eurasian badger (Meles meles) plays a role in the maintenance of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in cattle. Non-selective culling is the main intervention method deployed in controlling bTB in badgers along with smaller scale Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination areas. This paper describes the use of selective badger culling combined with vaccination in a research intervention trial.
In Northern Ireland, a 100 km area was subjected to a test and vaccinate or remove (TVR) badger intervention over a 5-year period. Badgers were individually identified and tested on an annual basis. Physical characteristics and clinical samples were obtained from each unique badger capture event.
A total of 824 badgers were trapped with 1520 capture/sampling events. There were no cage-related injuries to the majority of badgers (97%). A low level of badger removal was required (4.1%-16.4% annually), while 1412 BCG vaccinations were administered. A statistically significant downward trend in the proportion of test positive badgers was observed.
This is the first project to clearly demonstrate the feasibility of cage side testing of badgers. The results provide valuable data on the logistics and resources required to undertake a TVR approach to control Mycobacterium bovis in badgers.
在不列颠群岛，人们普遍认为欧亚獾（Meles meles）在维持牛结核病（bTB）方面在牛中起着作用。非选择性扑杀是控制獾中 bTB 的主要干预方法，同时还开展了较小规模的卡介苗（BCG）疫苗接种区。本文描述了在研究干预试验中结合使用选择性扑杀和疫苗接种的情况。
在北爱尔兰，一个 100 公里的区域进行了为期 5 年的测试和疫苗接种或清除（TVR）獾干预。每年对獾进行个体识别和测试。从每次独特的獾捕获事件中获取物理特征和临床样本。
共捕获了 824 只獾，进行了 1520 次捕获/采样事件。大多数獾（97%）没有因笼具造成的伤害。每年需要进行的獾清除量很少（4.1%-16.4%），同时还进行了 1412 次 BCG 疫苗接种。检测呈阳性的獾的比例呈明显下降趋势。
这是第一个清楚地证明在笼边对獾进行测试的可行性的项目。该结果提供了有价值的数据，说明在獾中实施 TVR 方法控制牛分枝杆菌所需的后勤和资源。
