Temporal and spatial Mycobacterium bovis prevalence patterns as evidenced in the All Wales Badgers Found Dead (AWBFD) survey of infection 2014–2016

Abstract

In order to better understand the spatial spread of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in Wales, an All Wales Badgers Found Dead (AWBFD) survey was carried out from 2014–2016. For Wales, as a whole, there was a significant decrease (p < 0.001) in prevalence of bTB in badgers since a similar survey was carried out in 2005–2006, with a drop from 13.3% to 7.3%. The highest prevalence was observed for the High TB Area East (18.6%), which shares its border with England, and differed significantly (p < 0.001) from the High TB Area West (7.4%). The lowest proportion of carcases diagnosed with the disease (0.7%) was in the Low TB Area, followed by the two Intermediate TB Areas of Wales (2.7%). The M. bovis isolates from badgers tended to be similar to the genotypes of cattle in the same area, except in the Low TB Area. The direction of any cross species transmission and the drivers for this cannot be determined from this study. The spatial variations described here support the need for regionally adapted surveillance and control measures for bovine tuberculosis in Wales.