Impact of test, vaccinate or remove protocol on home ranges and nightly movements of badgers a medium density population.

In the British Isles, the European badger (Meles meles) is thought to be the primary wildlife reservoir of bovine tuberculosis (bTB), an endemic disease in cattle. Test, vaccinate or remove ('TVR') of bTB test-positive badgers, has been suggested to be a potentially useful protocol to reduce bTB incidence in cattle. However, the practice of removing or culling badgers is controversial both for ethical reasons and because there is no consistent observed effect on bTB levels in cattle.

The impact of BCG strains and repeat vaccinations on immunodiagnostic tests in Eurasian badgers (Meles meles).

Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) is a potential tool in the control of Mycobacterium bovis in European badgers (Meles meles). A five year Test and Vaccinate or Remove (TVR) research intervention project commenced in 2014 using two BCG strains (BCG Copenhagen 1331 (Years 1-3/ BadgerBCG) and BCG Sofia SL2222 (Years 4-5). Badgers were recaptured around 9 weeks after the Year 5 vaccination and then again a year later.

Test and vaccinate or remove: Methodology and preliminary results from a badger intervention research project.

Background: 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.

A Bayesian analysis of a Test and Vaccinate or Remove study to control bovine tuberculosis in badgers (Meles meles).

A novel five year Test and Vaccinate or Remove (TVR) wildlife research intervention project in badgers (Meles meles) commenced in 2014 in a 100km2 area of Northern Ireland. It aimed to increase the evidence base around badgers and bovine TB and help create well-informed and evidence-based strategies to address the issue of cattle-to-cattle spread and spread between cattle and badgers. It involved real-time trap-side testing of captured badgers and vaccinating those that tested negative for bTB (BadgerBCG-BCG Danish 1331) and removal of those that tested bTB positive using the Dual-Path Platform VetTB test (DPP) for cervids (Chembio Diagnostic Systems, Medford, NY USA).

Quantifying intraherd cattle movement metrics: Implications for disease transmission risk.

There are a paucity of data quantifying on-farm management practices such as the frequency of intraherd cattle movements, use of consolidated or spatially fragmented grazing pastures, and duration of time cattle spend at grass with respect to biosecurity and disease transmission. Such movement dynamics are important when attempting to understand the maintenance of chronic infectious disease, such as bovine tuberculosis (bTB). We captured empirical data on daily cattle movements for a sample of eighteen farms throughout one complete grazing season (n = 18,988 grazing days) and assessed these attributes in relation to herd bTB risk.

Grazing cattle exposure to neighbouring herds and badgers in relation to bovine tuberculosis risk.

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) can be spread between and among cattle and wildlife hosts e.g. European badger (Meles meles).

Interspecific visitation of cattle and badgers to fomites: A transmission risk for bovine tuberculosis?

In Great Britain and Ireland, badgers () are a wildlife reservoir of and implicated in bovine tuberculosis transmission to domestic cattle. The route of disease transmission is unknown with direct, so-called "nose-to-nose," contact between hosts being extremely rare. Camera traps were deployed for 64,464 hr on 34 farms to quantify cattle and badger visitation rates in space and time at six farm locations.

Characteristics of Northern Irish cattle herds without bovine tuberculosis infection.

Background: Despite ongoing eradication efforts, bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is endemic in cattle herds in Northern Ireland (NI). This disease has serious implications for the economy, farming and animal welfare. Previous research identified a population of herds which have remained free from bTB infection for 10 years (2004-2014).