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Spatial association of Mycobacterium bovis infection in cattle and badgers Meles meles

  1. R. WOODROFFE1,2,*,
  2. C. A. DONNELLY2,3,
  3. W. T. JOHNSTON3,
  4. F. J. BOURNE2,
  5. C. L. CHEESEMAN4,
  6. R. S. CLIFTON-HADLEY5,
  7. D. R. COX2,6,
  8. G. GETTINBY2,7,
  9. R. G. HEWINSON5,
  10. A. M. LE FEVRE3,
  11. J. P. MCINERNEY2,8,
  12. W. I. MORRISON2,9

Article first published online: 11 AUG 2005

DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2005.01081.x

Issue

Journal of Applied Ecology

Journal of Applied Ecology

Volume 42, Issue 5, pages 852–862, October 2005

Additional Information

How to Cite

WOODROFFE, R., DONNELLY, C. A., JOHNSTON, W. T., BOURNE, F. J., CHEESEMAN, C. L., CLIFTON-HADLEY, R. S., COX, D. R., GETTINBY, G., HEWINSON, R. G., LE FEVRE, A. M., MCINERNEY, J. P. and MORRISON, W. I. (2005), Spatial association of Mycobacterium bovis infection in cattle and badgers Meles meles. Journal of Applied Ecology, 42: 852–862. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2005.01081.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA;

  2. 2

    Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB, c/o Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 1A Page Street, London SW1P 4PQ, UK;

  3. 3

    Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, St Mary's Campus, Norfolk Place, London W2 1PG, UK;

  4. 4

    Central Science Laboratory, Sand Hutton, York YO41 1LZ, UK;

  5. 5

    Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Woodham Lane, Surrey KT15 3NB, UK;

  6. 6

    Nuffield College, New Road, Oxford OX1 1NF, UK;

  7. 7

    Department of Statistics and Modelling Science, University of Strathclyde, Richmond St, Glasgow G1 1XH, UK;

  8. 8

    Centre for Rural Research, University of Exeter, Lafrowda House, St German's Road, Exeter EX4 6TL, UK; and

  9. 9

    Centre for Tropical Veterinary Medicine, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Roslin, Midlothian EH25 9RG, UK

* Rosie Woodroffe, Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA (fax +1 530 752 4154; e-mail rwoodroffe@ucdavis.edu).

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 11 AUG 2005
  2. Article first published online: 11 AUG 2005
  3. Received 13 May 2005; final copy received 20 June 2005 Editor: Simon Thirgood

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Keywords:

  • bovine TB;
  • disease cluster;
  • European badger;
  • Krebs trial;
  • perturbation;
  • Randomized Badger Culling Trial;
  • reservoir host;
  • tuberculosis;
  • wildlife disease;
  • zoonosis

Summary

  • 1
    Control of zoonotic disease is difficult to achieve when populations of multiple hosts, particularly wildlife, become persistently infected. Bovine tuberculosis (TB) is one such disease: its causative agent, Mycobacterium bovis, infects cattle, humans and multiple wildlife species including European badgers Meles meles.
  • 2
    In Britain, from 1974 to 1998 various strategies for the control of cattle TB involved culling badgers in the immediate vicinity of TB-affected herds. However, patterns of association between cattle and badgers had not been investigated at a local scale.
  • 3
    Using data from the Randomized Badger Culling Trial, an ongoing large-scale study of TB dynamics and control, we investigated local geographical associations between M. bovis infection in badgers and cattle.
  • 4
    Mycobacterium bovis infections were locally clustered within both badger and cattle populations.
  • 5
    We show, for the first time, that M. bovis infections in badgers and cattle are spatially associated at a scale of 1–2 km. Badgers and cattle infected with the same strain type of M. bovis are particularly closely correlated. These observational data support the hypothesis that transmission occurs between the two host species; however, they cannot be used to evaluate the relative importance of badger-to-cattle and cattle-to-badger transmission.
  • 6
    Synthesis and applications. The close associations between M. bovis infections in cattle and badgers suggest that localized badger culling could reasonably be expected to reduce the risks of cattle TB infection; however, experimental culls have found no such beneficial effects over the time-scale on which they were tested. This demonstrates the difficulty of predicting the outcome of management interventions, and reinforces the need for well-designed empirical assessments of future control strategies.
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