Publications by authors named "Kevin Crews"

Article Synopsis
  • The New Zealand government and agricultural sectors aim to eradicate bovine tuberculosis (TB) in livestock and wildlife by 2055, building on Australia's successful wildlife eradication.
  • The strategy involves a Bayesian "Proof of Freedom" framework to assess TB eradication in specific areas, alongside decision theory research to optimize management resources and avoid false declarations of freedom.
  • Progress since the framework's adoption in 2011 indicates that complete eradication of TB in New Zealand is feasible and well underway.
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The ability to DNA fingerprint isolates helped to define the role of wildlife in the persistence of bovine tuberculosis in New Zealand. DNA fingerprinting results currently help to guide wildlife control measures and also aid in tracing the source of infections that result from movement of livestock. During the last 5 years we have developed the ability to distinguish New Zealand (NZ) isolates by comparing the sequences of whole genome sequenced (WGS) samples.

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The fur seal (Arctocephalus forsteri), which is abundant in coastal areas of New Zealand, harbors several zoonotic pathogens, including Mycobacterium pinnipedii, a member of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. We describe the microbiology and epidemiology of seven cases of M. pinnipedii infection in beef cattle (Bos primigenius) in coastal areas of New Zealand in 1991-2011.

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