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. 2019 Jul 9;9(15):8479-8489.
doi: 10.1002/ece3.5282. eCollection 2019 Aug.

Interspecific visitation of cattle and badgers to fomites: A transmission risk for bovine tuberculosis?

Emma L Campbell  1   2 , Andrew W Byrne  1   2   3 , Fraser D Menzies  4 , Kathryn R McBride  4 , Carl M McCormick  2   4 , Michael Scantlebury  1   5 , Neil Reid  1   5
Affiliations

Interspecific visitation of cattle and badgers to fomites: A transmission risk for bovine tuberculosis?

Emma L Campbell et al. Ecol Evol. .

Abstract

In Great Britain and Ireland, badgers (Meles meles) are a wildlife reservoir of Mycobacterium bovis and implicated in bovine tuberculosis transmission to domestic cattle. The route of disease transmission is unknown with direct, so-called "nose-to-nose," contact between hosts being extremely rare. Camera traps were deployed for 64,464 hr on 34 farms to quantify cattle and badger visitation rates in space and time at six farm locations. Badger presence never coincided with cattle presence at the same time, with badger and cattle detection at the same location but at different times being negatively correlated. Badgers were never recorded within farmyards during the present study. Badgers utilized cattle water troughs in fields, but detections were infrequent (equivalent to one badger observed drinking every 87 days). Cattle presence at badger-associated locations, for example, setts and latrines, were three times more frequent than badger presence at cattle-associated locations, for example, water troughs. Preventing cattle access to badger setts and latrines and restricting badger access to cattle water troughs may potentially reduce interspecific bTB transmission through reduced indirect contact.

Keywords: Meles meles; Mycobacterium bovis; camera trapping; disease ecology; surveillance; wildlife–livestock interface.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) Badger and (b) cattle weekly visitation rates ± 1 standard error at each of six locations per farm. (c) Badger and (d) cattle seasonal visitation rates ± 1 standard error at badger locations (latrines and setts only) and cattle locations (water troughs only)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Camera trap still images of (a) badger at a cattle water trough and (b) cattle at a badger sett entrance
Figure 3
Figure 3
Mean daily estimated proximity ± 1 standard error in both seasonal surveys combined of (a) badgers at cattle locations (at water troughs only) and (b) cattle at badger locations (latrines, runs, and setts)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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