Little T W, Naylor P F, Wilesmith J W
Vet Rec. 1982 Dec 11;111(24):550-7.
Two experiments with badgers infected with Mycobacterium bovis are described. In the first, badgers were infected by intravenous inoculation of a bovine isolate of M bovis. The course of the disease in these and its spread to healthy badgers and calves was monitored by clinical, immunological and bacteriological means. In the second experiment a group of naturally infected badgers were observed for a period of up to four years. They were found to excrete M bovis in their faeces for periods of between 165 and 1305 days before they died of tuberculosis or were killed. M bovis was also shed in the urine. The badgers in both experiments were examined regularly and blood samples were taken for complement fixation tests. Faeces, urine, pus and sputum were also collected for cultural and biological tests and the badgers were skin tested using Weybridge bovine and avian tuberculin. The skin tests were uniformly negative while the complement fixation test were positive in some infected badgers but gave very variable results. Only the isolation of M bovis gave a definite diagnosis of tuberculosis in the living badger but a number of badgers which were found to have tuberculosis at post mortem were not detected while alive by this method. Environmental samples from the yards, including badger faeces, soil, hay, scrapings from feeding bowls and water were regularly examined for the presence of M bovis but apart from faeces only one water sample was positive, indicating that the organism did not persist for long in the environment. In both experiments calves developed sensitivity to bovine tuberculin after six months' exposure to infected badgers. The experiments further demonstrate the potential of a badger population to become endemically infected with M bovis and to act as a source of infection for cattle.
本文描述了两项针对感染牛分枝杆菌的獾的实验。在第一项实验中，通过静脉接种牛分枝杆菌的牛分离株使獾感染。通过临床、免疫学和细菌学方法监测这些獾的疾病进程及其向健康獾和小牛的传播情况。在第二项实验中，对一组自然感染的獾进行了长达四年的观察。发现它们在死于结核病或被扑杀之前，粪便中排出牛分枝杆菌的时间为165至1305天。尿液中也排出牛分枝杆菌。对两项实验中的獾都进行了定期检查，并采集血样进行补体结合试验。还收集粪便、尿液、脓液和痰液进行培养和生物学检测，并用韦布里奇牛型和禽型结核菌素对獾进行皮肤试验。皮肤试验均为阴性，而一些感染獾的补体结合试验呈阳性，但结果差异很大。只有分离出牛分枝杆菌才能对活体獾做出明确的结核病诊断，但许多在死后被发现患有结核病的獾在生前通过这种方法未被检测到。定期检查来自獾舍的环境样本，包括獾粪便、土壤、干草、食槽刮屑和水，以检测牛分枝杆菌的存在，但除了粪便外，只有一个水样呈阳性，这表明该生物体在环境中不会长期存活。在两项实验中，小牛在接触感染獾六个月后对牛结核菌素产生了敏感性。这些实验进一步证明了獾群有感染牛分枝杆菌并成为牛感染源的可能性。
