Danger Dust

In a new bid to finally defeat bovine tuberculosis (TB), the United Kingdom plans to accelerate research on cattle vaccines, test more cattle, and end the controversial culling of wild badgers, which can spread the disease to cows. The bacterial disease poses a serious threat to dairy and beef farmers, because cattle infected with TB give less milk, provide lower quality meat, and must be slaughtered to prevent spread of the disease.

One concern is that culling can backfire; if less than 70% of badgers living near a farm are killed, infected survivors are more likely to disperse and carry the disease to other farms. Some researchers and activists believe widespread vaccination would be more effective. Since 2010, it has been possible to immunize badgers with the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine used to prevent TB in humans, because the pathogens are closely related. Such efforts have remained small scale, because vaccinating badgers requires a special license and training.