Low-dose BCG vaccination protects free-ranging cattle against naturally-acquired bovine tuberculosis.

Vaccination of cattle with Mycobacterium bovis BCG has been shown to protect against infection with virulent strains of M. bovis, and against resultant bovine tuberculosis (TB). Here we report on a large-scale trial in New Zealand where free-ranging cattle were vaccinated with 3 x 10 BCG via injection, a lower dose than any previously trialed in cattle against exposure to a natural force of M.

Efficacy of oral BCG vaccination in protecting free-ranging cattle from natural infection by Mycobacterium bovis.

Vaccination of cattle against bovine tuberculosis could be a valuable control strategy, particularly in countries faced with intractable ongoing infection from a disease reservoir in wildlife. A field vaccination trial was undertaken in New Zealand. The trial included 1286 effectively free-ranging cattle stocked at low densities in a remote 7600ha area, with 55% of them vaccinated using Mycobacterium bovis BCG (Danish strain 1311).

Field Trial of an Aerially-Distributed Tuberculosis Vaccine in a Low-Density Wildlife Population of Brushtail Possums (Trichosurus vulpecula).

Oral-delivery Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine in a lipid matrix has been shown to confer protection against M. bovis infection and reduce the severity of tuberculosis (TB) when fed to brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula), the major wildlife vector of bovine TB in New Zealand. Here we demonstrate the feasibility of aerial delivery of this live vaccine in bait form to an M.

Quantifying short-term foraging movements in a marsupial pest to improve targeted lethal control and disease surveillance.

In New Zealand, the introduced marsupial brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) is a pest species subject to control measures, primarily to limit its ability to transmit bovine tuberculosis (TB) to livestock and for conservation protection. To better define parameters for targeted possum control and TB surveillance, we here applied a novel approach to analyzing GPS data obtained from 44 possums fitted with radio-tracking collars, producing estimates of the animals' short-term nocturnal foraging patterns based on 1-, 3- or 5-nights' contiguous data. Studies were conducted within two semi-arid montane regions of New Zealand's South Island High Country: these regions support low-density possum populations (<2 possums/ha) in which the animals' home ranges are on average larger than in high-density populations in forested habitat.