bTB Spread, according to Sunday Times mainly by cattle movement.

[Water Wheel]

Jonathan Leake writing about the badger cull in the Sunday Times states,


“Bovine Tuberculosis has been spread across England and Wales mainly as a result of farmers moving cattle with undiscovered infections between farms.”

I think the same claim was made last week. Is there any evidence to back up this claim ?

 

[jondear]

Well we haven't moved any cattle on for 20 years and still end up with TB.Explain that Mr expert!

 

[jade35]

Jonathan Leake writing about the badger cull in the Sunday Times states,


“Bovine Tuberculosis has been spread across England and Wales mainly as a result of farmers moving cattle with undiscovered infections between farms.”

I think the same claim was made last week. Is there any evidence to back up this claim ?

No! the journalist should have done some more research


tb spoligotypes tell the true story, most tb samples test true to the area. The link below is a good explanation.

https://veterinary-practice.com/article/the-use-of-spoligotyping-in-tb-case-management

 

[jade35]

@matthew will have further information from the tb blog http://bovinetb.blogspot.com/

This PDF is the 2013 figures. It gives enough facts and figures to keep anybody happy on a rainy afternoon but probably too much information for anyone not wanting to look at solid facts and figures.

Scroll down to page 60 for the map of spoligotypes in England and Wales.

https://assets.publishing.service.g...nt_data/file/413806/tb-pub-surveport-gb13.pdf

The 2015 figures page 57 onwards for maps

https://assets.publishing.service.g...gb-surveillance-report-infection-cattle15.pdf

2016 figures
https://assets.publishing.service.g.../file/660133/tb-epidemiology-england-2016.pdf

 

[Exfarmer]

Jonathon Leake bases his stories on the Cumbrian outbreak, which suggests disease has come from Ireland via cattle to badgers .he then infers most transmission is cattle to cattle, although the evidence is otherwise.
Sadly UK libel laws make it difficult to call him Out, without very good evidence. Whereas anyone can make generalised accusations with no back up at all.

 

[exmoor dave]

Well we haven't moved any cattle on for 20 years and still end up with TB.Explain that Mr expert!

Only buy a bull every few years here.

When the badger population rises....so does incidence of tb in the cattle

Funny that


Poor deer are being absolutely decimated by tb too.

I see the NT have decided to buy into the cattle movements blame game to justify hanging their tenants out to dry

 

[Raider112]

Jonathan Leake writing about the badger cull in the Sunday Times states,


“Bovine Tuberculosis has been spread across England and Wales mainly as a result of farmers moving cattle with undiscovered infections between farms.”

I think the same claim was made last week. Is there any evidence to back up this claim ?

I think he's sort of right in that the spread across the country over large distances is down to cattle movements but he won't say that they are easily cleared by test and removal. Neither will he say that the repeated cases in a local area are mainly due to badgers.

 

[sidjon]

Only buy a bull every few years here.

When the badger population rises....so does incidence of tb in the cattle

Funny that


Poor deer are being absolutely decimated by tb too.

I see the NT have decided to buy into the cattle movements blame game to justify hanging their tenants out to dry

Our deer population this side of the moors has seen tb dropping in deers unless they come out of the disease hell hole of Baronsdown, guess were our buggers come from

 

[matthew]

Jonathan Leake writing about the badger cull in the Sunday Times states,


“Bovine Tuberculosis has been spread across England and Wales mainly as a result of farmers moving cattle with undiscovered infections between farms.”

I think the same claim was made last week. Is there any evidence to back up this claim ?

No. But plenty to disprove the hypothesis.

https://bovinetb.blogspot.com/2012/11/spoligotyping-gets-headlines.html

 

[bjreroberts]

An article regarding a shot badger being left to suffer has done the rounds in the Guardian, Sunday Times and the BBC.

I found the Guardian reporting particularly infuriating, claiming vaccination is a fraction of caged shooting. Although it mentioned legal and policing costs, it didn’t make it obvious that is the only reason for the higher cost.

Presentation of statistics as well, incidence levels down to 5.6% and 10% in the cull areas. Ignores the fact that this is a 50% reduction