Difference in differences analysis evaluates the effects of the badger control policy on bovine tuberculosis in England.

Persistent tuberculosis (TB) in cattle populations in England has been associated with an exchange of infection with badgers (Meles meles). A badger control policy (BCP) commenced in 2013. Its aim was to decrease TB incidence in cattle by reducing the badger population available to provide a wildlife reservoir for bovine TB.

Optimisation of BCG Fermentation and Storage Survival.

Bacillus Calmette-Guérin ( BCG) was generated over a century ago for protection against (Mtb) and is one the oldest vaccines still in use. The BCG vaccine is currently produced using a pellicle growth method, which is a complex and lengthy process that has been challenging to standardise. Fermentation for BCG vaccine production would reduce the complexity associated with pellicle growth and increase batch to batch reproducibility.

Bioreactor-Grown Bacillus of Calmette and Guérin (BCG) Vaccine Protects Badgers against Virulent When Administered Orally: Identifying Limitations in Baited Vaccine Delivery.

Bovine tuberculosis (TB) in Great Britain adversely affects animal health and welfare and is a cause of considerable economic loss. The situation is exacerbated by European badgers () acting as a wildlife source of recurrent infection to cattle. Vaccination of badgers against TB is a possible means to reduce and control bovine TB.

A combined measure of tuberculous lesions for assessing the efficacy of vaccination against tuberculosis (Mycobacterium bovis) in European badgers (Meles meles) supports the 3Rs principle of reduction.

Background: An oral vaccine is a potential tool to tackle the reservoir of Mycobacterium bovis in European badgers (Meles meles), which contributes to tuberculosis of cattle in the British Isles. Inferences about vaccine protection against experimental challenge with M. bovis depend on the measurement of tuberculosis.

A new bovine tuberculosis model for England and Wales (BoTMEW) to simulate epidemiology, surveillance and control.

Background: Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a zoonotic disease of cattle caused by Mycobacterium bovis, widespread in England and Wales. It has high incidence towards the South West of England and Wales, with much lower incidence to the East and North. A stochastic simulation model was developed to simulate M.

In vitro and in vivo evaluation of a single chain antibody fragment generated in planta with potent rabies neutralisation activity.

Rabies causes more than 60,000 human deaths annually in areas where the virus is endemic. Importantly, rabies is one of the few pathogens for which there is no treatment following the onset of clinical disease with the outcome of infection being death in almost 100% of cases. Whilst vaccination, and the combination of vaccine and rabies immunoglobulin treatment for post-exposure administration are available, no tools have been identified that can reduce or prevent rabies virus replication once clinical disease has initiated.

Estimating the hidden burden of bovine tuberculosis in Great Britain.

The number of cattle herds placed under movement restrictions in Great Britain (GB) due to the suspected presence of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) has progressively increased over the past 25 years despite an intensive and costly test-and-slaughter control program. Around 38% of herds that clear movement restrictions experience a recurrent incident (breakdown) within 24 months, suggesting that infection may be persisting within herds. Reactivity to tuberculin, the basis of diagnostic testing, is dependent on the time from infection.

Risk of Foot-and-Mouth Disease spread due to sole occupancy authorities and linked cattle holdings.

Livestock movements in Great Britain are well recorded, have been extensively analysed with respect to their role in disease spread, and have been used in real time to advise governments on the control of infectious diseases. Typically, livestock holdings are treated as distinct entities that must observe movement standstills upon receipt of livestock, and must report livestock movements. However, there are currently two dispensations that can exempt holdings from either observing standstills or reporting movements, namely the Sole Occupancy Authority (SOA) and Cattle Tracing System (CTS) Links, respectively.

A "shotgun" method for tracing the birth locations of sheep from flock tags, applied to scrapie surveillance in Great Britain.

Movement records are often used to identify animal sample provenance by retracing the movements of individuals. Here we present an alternative method, which uses the same identity tags and movement records as are used to retrace movements, but ignores individual movement paths. The first step uses a simple query to identify the most likely birth holding for every identity tag included in a database recording departures from agricultural holdings.

Spatial distribution of the active surveillance of sheep scrapie in Great Britain: an exploratory analysis.

Background: This paper explores the spatial distribution of sampling within the active surveillance of sheep scrapie in Great Britain. We investigated the geographic distribution of the birth holdings of sheep sampled for scrapie during 2002 - 2005, including samples taken in abattoir surveys (c. 83,100) and from sheep that died in the field ("fallen stock", c.

Demographic risk factors for classical and atypical scrapie in Great Britain.

Following the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) crisis, the European Union has introduced policies for eradicating transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), including scrapie, from large ruminants. However, recent European Union surveillance has identified a novel prion disease, 'atypical' scrapie, substantially different from classical scrapie. It is unknown whether atypical scrapie is naturally transmissible or zoonotic, like BSE.