A Retrospective Assessment of Human Health Protection Benefits from Removal of Tuberculous Beef

Abstract

In the early 1900s, government agencies instituted two programs , Federal slaughterhouse inspection and on-farm tuberculin testing, to control the spread of bovine tuberculosis (TB). From this historical perspective, the economic benefits of these programs are estimated using four parameters: (a) an estimation of how many cattle would have had bovine TB without the programs, (b) the likelihood of those infected cattle causing human illness through aerosol contamination, penetration of the skin via cuts and nicks, cross-contamination of other foods in the home, and consumption of meat and meat products, (c) current costs of treating human cases of TB, and (d) the evaluation of the benefits of preventing the death of some individuals. Based on these four parameters, the TB control programs have possible estimated economic benefits which range from $30 to $300 million annually. This paper examines the human health protection benefits from U.S. programs to control bovine tuberculosis (TB) and attempts to evaluate what would have occurred if no federal effort has been mounted. Bovine TB has been a serious problem worldwide. In 1958, 17 to 18% of all cattle in England were estimated to have tuberculosis. Because the disease incidence increases with age,