Tuberculosis and badgers: new approaches to diagnosis and control

Gormley, Eamonn; Costello, Eamon

doi:10.1046/j.1365-2672.94.s1.9.x

Cited by 33 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Certain tasks like reduction and/or vaccination of the badger population (Hughes et al 1996;Gormley and Collins 2002;Gormley and Costello 2003;Delahay et al 2003;Abernethy et al 2006;O'Keeffe 2006;Hone and Donnelly 2008) may be more readily accomplished than formerly expected or at least have lower target populations. On the other hand, since the badger is a protected species, there are implications for designing removal studies that do not threaten the species' long-term sustainability.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The problem has undergone substantial research and review efforts (Gormley and Costello 2003;O'Keeffe 2006;Kelly et al 2007;Corner et al 2008) and Britain (Godfray et al 2004;Reynolds 2006;Bourne et al 2007;King 2007;McDonald et al 2008). Badgers are protected by law in Ireland, both North and South (Whilde 1993), and are ecologically significant animals for example, as ecosystem engineers (Jones et al 1994).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How many Eurasian badgers Meles meles L. are there in the Republic of Ireland?

Sleeman

Davenport

et al. 2009

Eur J Wildl Res

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In Ireland, the badger Meles meles L is a reservoir species for Mycobacterium bovis and, as such, contributes to the maintenance of bovine tuberculosis in cattle. A previous estimate of the badger population in the Republic was 200,000 badgers. In the current study, we obtained data on badger numbers from a large-scale badger removal project (the Four-Area project). The removal areas of the Four-Area Project were surrounded by barriers (either water or buffer areas where removals were also conducted) to prevent badger immigration. Within these areas, a grid of 0.25 km 2 was created within which we knew the badger numbers and habitat types (based on Corine data). Associations between badger numbers and habitat type were investigated using negative binomial modeling. Extrapolations from the model yielded an estimated badger population in the Republic of approximately 84,000 badgers. The implications of these findings are discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How many Eurasian badgers Meles meles L. are there in the Republic of Ireland?

Sleeman

Davenport

et al. 2009

Eur J Wildl Res

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“…Genetic research in Britain indicates that half of all paternity is due to males outside the social group (Carpenter et al 2005), which implies substantial numbers of visits between groups. Migratory movements are likely to confound badger field trials, for example in the application of a vaccine (Gormley and Costello 2003;Delahay et al 2003) and need to be better understood. Our study demonstrates that sea, or external, buffers are effective barriers with low permeability.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effectiveness of barriers to badger Meles meles immigration in the Irish Four Area project

Sleeman

Davenport

et al. 2008

Eur J Wildl Res

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This study's objective was to estimate the permeability of barriers to badger immigration during the Irish Four Area project. These barriers were at the boundaries of removal areas, where there was proactive culling of badgers. Data from the last 3 years of the study were used. Each length of barrier was allocated a space within the removal area. These were further sub-divided into spaces of 0-2, 2-5 km and sometimes of more than 5 km from the edge of the removal area. It is assumed that all, or some, of the badgers caught within these spaces came across the barriers. The barriers were one of the following: external buffers, sea, rivers and political boundaries. The total lengths of the barriers in all areas were: external buffer 128.5 km; sea 70.9 km; river 78.6 km; political 32.2 km. We assume three scenarios: (1) all badgers caught in the final 3 years were immigrants, (2) 75% were immigrants or (3) 50% were immigrants. We test these scenarios using chi-square tests, applying internal buffers of 1 km to counter movements of badgers across zones. Using this approach and multivariate analysis, we found that the permeability of barrier types varied, with sea and external buffers being the most effective barriers. The combined capture data are further examined by the sex ratio in each range, and then the sex ratio in total. Equal numbers of males and females were found, but the source populations were probably predominantly female. If badger management options are to achieve maximum benefits, then the field effectiveness of such barriers needs to be understood.

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“…There has been building evidence of the role of infected badgers ( Meles meles , a protected species in Ireland) as a reservoir of Mycobacterium bovis in Ireland and the UK, including: isolation of M. bovis in badgers in several countries ([19]; Bouvier et al , 1962 cited by [2,16]); recognition that badgers were highly susceptible to M. bovis infection [12], and that tuberculosis was endemic within the badger population in Ireland [24]; and the identification of identical strains of M. bovis in local Irish cattle and badger populations [4]. However, this information on its own is not sufficient to prove disease causation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tuberculosis in cattle: the results of the four-area project

Griffin

Clegg

et al. 2005

Ir Vet J

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The four-area project was undertaken to further assess the impact of badger removal on the control of tuberculosis in cattle herds in Ireland. It was conducted between 1997 and 2002 in matched removal and reference areas in four counties, namely Cork, Donegal, Kilkenny and Monaghan, representing a wide range of Irish farming environments. In the removal areas, a proactive programme of badger removal was conducted, on two or three occasions each year, whereas in the reference areas, badger removal was entirely reactive following severe outbreaks of tuberculosis amongst cattle. A detailed statistical analysis of this study has already been presented by Griffin et al. [13]; this paper presents further, mainly descriptive, findings from the study. In total, 2,360 badgers were captured in the removal areas of which 450 (19.5%) were considered positive for tuberculosis and 258 badgers were captured in the reference areas, with 57 (26.1%) positive for tuberculosis. The annual incidence of confirmed herd restrictions was lower in the removal area compared to the reference area in every year of the study period in each of the four counties. These empirical findings were consistent with the hazard ratios found by Griffin et al. [13]. Further, the effect of proactive badger removal on cattle tuberculosis in the four-area project and in the earlier east-Offaly project, as measured using the number of reactors per 1,000 cattle tested, were very similar, providing compelling evidence of the role of badgers in the epidemiology of tuberculosis in Irish cattle herds. The validity of the four-area project was discussed in detail. Efforts to minimise badger-to-cattle transmission in Ireland must be undertaken in association with the current comprehensive control programme, which has effectively minimised opportunities for cattle-to-cattle transmission.

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Tuberculosis and badgers: new approaches to diagnosis and control

Cited by 33 publications

References 31 publications

How many Eurasian badgers Meles meles L. are there in the Republic of Ireland?

How many Eurasian badgers Meles meles L. are there in the Republic of Ireland?

The effectiveness of barriers to badger Meles meles immigration in the Irish Four Area project

Tuberculosis in cattle: the results of the four-area project

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