Monitoring Mycobacterium bovis in Eurasian badgers (Meles meles) killed by vehicles in Northern Ireland between 1998 and 2011

Abstract

Despite extensive long-term eradication programmes, bovine tuberculosis (bTB) remains endemic in much of the British Isles. The cost of the national eradication programme in Northern Ireland was estimated at £23 million in 2010/2011. There is evidence that badgers play a role in the maintenance and spread of Mycobacterium bovis to cattle (as reviewed by Allen and others). Northern Ireland is a small country (13,843 km2) with an agricultural land that is dominated by grass production, which supports 1.6 million cattle among 20,000 farms. The estimated badger population of 34,100 (95 per cent confidence interval (CI) 26,200 to 42,000) is widespread and contained within 7600 social groups (95 per cent CI 6200 to 9000).4 A road traffic accident (RTA) survey began in 1998 in Northern Ireland with the aim of describing the occurrence of M bovis within the badger population.