Sir Brian May of rock band Queen explains that culling badgers has not stopped the spread of bovine TB

Brian May talks about bovine TB and the badger cull. Image:
Screenshot from the video below.

This is a quote from Brian May:

Vivian, a very decent and caring farmer [who owns the farm where he made the video on this page], took meticulous care of his cattle, until one day, out of the blue, the whole herd failed the SICCT skin test for bovine TB, and he lost them all, along with his livelihood, and his family's whole way of life. He and his wife have fiercely fought back, as you'll see in the documentary we're making with the BBC. But in the ten years since this happened, the situation has only got worse for cattle farmers, indicating that a massive rethink is required, focussing on transmission of the pathogen within the herd, instead of clinging to the notion that the problem in cows can be solved by messing with surrounding wildlife, and testing and removing cows using a completely unreliable skin test.

Please view the whole video. Sir Brain needs to be listened to. He is making a documentary for the BBC on bovine TB. It should be great because he is a smart guy and a seeker of the truth unlike the British government which is populated with a bunch of idiots. Well, not quite but they are so political that the truth sometimes (often?) comes second to the politics.

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How do badgers transmit bovine TB to cattle? There must be some transmission but it is clearly not as significant as the cattle themselves being a reservoir.

Badgers (Meles meles) have been identified as a wildlife reservoir for bovine tuberculosis (bTB), a disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium bovis, which can affect cattle and other animals. The exact mechanisms of transmission of bTB between badgers and cattle are not fully understood, but there are several ways through which this transmission can occur:

Direct Contact: Badgers and cattle can come into direct contact with each other, primarily in areas where they share habitats. Close contact between infected badgers and susceptible cattle can lead to the transmission of the bacterium through respiratory secretions, saliva, urine, and feces.

Environmental Contamination: Infected badgers can shed the bacteria in their urine, feces, and other bodily fluids. These contaminated materials can persist in the environment, especially in areas where badgers are active, such as their setts (burrows). Cattle grazing in these areas might come into contact with the contaminated environment and ingest or inhale the bacteria.

Shared Feeding Areas and Water Sources: Badgers and cattle might share common feeding areas or water sources, increasing the potential for indirect contact and transmission of the bacterium.

Aerosol Transmission: It is also possible that the bacteria could be aerosolized in badger setts or other areas where badgers are active, and cattle could inhale these aerosols, leading to infection.

It's important to note that the exact role of badgers in transmitting bTB to cattle is still an area of ongoing research and debate. Various factors, such as the density of badger populations, prevalence of infection, and environmental conditions, can influence the risk of transmission.

Efforts to manage bTB transmission between badgers and cattle often involve implementing strategies such as culling infected badgers, improving biosecurity on farms, and developing vaccination programs for both cattle and badgers. However, these strategies can be contentious and have sparked debates over their effectiveness, ethical considerations, and potential impacts on wildlife populations.

Toxoplasma gondii infections in Chinese and ethnic minority races in China mainly caused by eating raw meats

The people who dislike cats say that cat owners and other people get toxoplasma gondii infections from cats through cat faeces as the feces can contain oocysts for a short period. And there's lots of discussion on the Internet about this and whether a pregnant woman should have a domestic cat companion. Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic disease.

But the experts, and I would include myself in that, say that the major way people contract toxoplasma gondii infections is through their handling of and their eating of certain foods. I'm referring to undercooked or uncooked foods and handling raw foods and then using their hands to eat cooked foods. This creates cross contamination.

And in this vein, I've picked up a study on the Internet about Toxoplasma gondii infections in humans in China dated 2011.

The study is interesting because in certain parts of China they have very specific eating habits. Sometimes these eating habits exacerbate the likelihood of contracting toxoplasmosis.

The first human case of toxoplasmosis in China was reported in 1964 and there were many human cases reported in China after an epidemic survey on toxoplasmosis was carried out in Guangxi province in 1978. The difficulty is that it is hard to glean information from Chinese documents because little information is published in English.

Interestingly, and this point needs to be made, based upon the documents surveyed, the prevalence of toxoplasmosis in humans in China is lower than in France for example (50-75% seropositive). A lot lower in fact. Although in the provinces in China the incidences of toxoplasmosis increased from 5.2% in 1988 to 7.9% in 2004.

Guizhou province and Guangxi province had the highest levels of prevalence at 15.1% and 12.7% respectively. The ethic group Miao and the highest incidence of Toxoplasma gondii infections in people at 25.4%.

They state that the eating habits of the ethnic groups surveyed were an important part in being infected. For example, people living in south-west China enjoy eating raw or half-raw meat. Or they eat animal organs as part of their tradition. They might eat sour-meat or pork or beef which is half-raw. The Mongol people like to eat their traditional food using their hands after contact with animals or raw meat (Mongolian Finger Mutton).

The study points to the fact that the greatest risk of being infected with toxoplasma gondii is through eating or handling raw meat. A toxoplasma gondii infection is usually harmless (asymptomatic) but can cause serious illness.

The incidence of Chinese citizens with tuberculosis and hepatitis B of a toxoplasma gondii infection was much higher at 35.3% and 19.2% respectively. Most of the cases were chronic infections. And they state that "70% of individuals infected with T gondii and tuberculosis had the experience of intimate contact with animals."

The study concluded that the oral route of a T. gondii infection is the major route. And pigs in China are often infected. The infection rate in pigs in some parts of China is 53.4% whereas in the USA it is 2.7%. The Chinese like their pork. As I recall, they are the biggest consumers of pork in the world.

The conclusion that one takes from the study is that the greatest risk of being infected with T gondii is through the handling and eating of raw or semi-raw meats due to cultural traditions.

In the West, such as in America, the greatest risk will be through handling raw meat in the kitchen. Veterinarians will tell you that people get the disease from eating raw or undercooked pork, beef, mutton or veal or unpasteurised dairy products which contain toxoplasma organisms.

It is the handling of these products and the consuming of them and the necessary regulations and advice issued by governments concerning these matters that count in terms of reducing infections. 

Educational programs are important to help people change their habit of consuming undercooked meat. Lastly, water that hasn't been boiled in certain districts of China are an issue because oocysts can survive up to 3 years and be transmitted by water through direct drinking.

The study: Zhou, P., Chen, Z., Li, HL. et al. Toxoplasma gondii infection in humans in China. Parasites Vectors 4, 165 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1186/1756-3305-4-165

Preventing cat diseases through inoculations harnesses the body's natural ability to fight infection

Infectious agents are viruses or bacteria normally. In vaccines, the infectious agent is modified. It is no longer infectious. This is achieved by killing it or modifying it so that it is alive but no longer infectious. Or in the creation of a vaccine, the scientists take vital components of the infectious agent or enslave bacteria through genetic engineering to produce replicas of those parts in the words of Dr. Bruce Fogle (Complete Cat Care). 

URI in a cat. Typically caused by the herpes virus. Photo: urbananimalveterinary.com.

The resulting vaccine is similar to the unmodified form of the infectious agent. This provokes the cat's immune system to create antibodies. Antibodies are proteins that attach to and help destroy the specific infectious agent against which the vaccine works.

Kittens acquire their mother's antibodies in her milk and therefore take some protection from their mother when they suckle from after birth. These are temporary antibodies which last around 6 to 10 weeks.

There are a variety of vaccines available for cats.

Feline infectious enteritis

There is a vaccine against feline infectious enteritis. This is also known as feline panleukopenia or feline parvovirus. This is a virus that can survive for a long time in the environment. The symptoms include diarrhoea, vomiting and sometimes death. It is especially dangerous to kittens. The vaccine against this disease is very effective and it provides protection for a long time.

RELATED: Feline Distemper Symptom

Cat flu

Cat flu is usually caused feline herpesvirus or feline calicivirus. The disease is spread by close contact with cats that carry the disease. Most upper respiratory infections (URIs) in domestic cats are caused by these cat flu viruses.

The symptoms are mild to severe including pharyngitis (a sore throat) eye inflammation and discharge, nasal discharge, sneezing, coughing, and mouth ulcers. A complication is pneumonia which can be life-threatening. 

RELATED: Feline Herpes Virus

Some cats may suffer permanent damage to the nose or eyes. There might be a secondary bacterial infection. This can destroy eyes. You will see many blind, ex-feral cats whose eyes had been destroyed by bacterial infections.

RELATED: Is L-lysine good for herpes virus in cats?

Some cats recover quite quickly in a few days while others might take weeks. The vaccination against these viruses protects the cat from serious illness. It does not protect against infection. Cats that are vaccinated can carry the disease and pass it on to others. These carriers are asymptomatic.

Feline leukaemia virus

Feline leukaemia virus is described as 'fragile' and it is transmitted through saliva during prolonged close contact between cats. When a cat becomes infected it lasts for their lifetime and most cats die within three years of being diagnosed. This is usually because of related illnesses such as lymphoma or anaemia.

RELATED: RetroMAD1: Possible new drug for fighting Feline Immunodeficiency Virus and Feline Leukaemia

Around 1% of all healthy cats test positive. Up to 18% of all ill cats seen by veterinarians have this disease. In the selective breeding of purebred cats, blood testing has been effective in reducing the incidence of this disease. The vaccine against it provides protection to at-risk cats but not necessarily all cats.

Rabies

Rabies is well known. It's a virus which attacks the central nervous system. It is fatal. It can infect almost all warm-blooded animals. It is most common in members of the canine family, monkeys, bats and cats. The virus is excreted into the saliva of the animal and it can be transmitted to people normally through bites. The disease is zoonotic.

RELATED: How often do cats transmit rabies to people in the USA?

In some places vaccination against this disease is mandated and for travelling cats. The vaccine provides effective and efficient protection which lasts for three or more years.

P.S. The principles of vaccination is better known to all of us because of Covid. It is shocking however that there are still millions of people who fear the Covid vaccines despite worldwide approval and the biggest testing program ever.

Feral cats in managed colonies are as healthy as domestic cats

The feral cats in managed TNR colonies in North Florida are as healthy as, if not more healthy than, domestic cats in America according to a study titled Prevalence of infectious diseases and feral cats in northern Florida. I think that information is a little surprising but very good to hear. But I have heard this before from good sources. Peole are told that feral cats live short, diseased and miserable lives with a lifespan of 3 years. PETA push out this information in fact. They are wrong to generalise. They can lead lives as good as those of domestic cats.

The study was examining the most common infectious diseases in feral cats in northern Florida and how they compared with the health of domestic cats. There were 553 participating cats. They came to the following conclusion, in their words:

"Feral cats in this study had similar prevalence of infections compared to those published for pet cats in the United States. This suggests that feral cats assessed in this study appear to be of no greater risk to human beings or other cats than pet cats."

So they are saying that taken as a whole, domestic cats in America are not healthier in terms of carrying infectious diseases than the feral cats of northern Florida when those cats are within a colony cared for by a volunteer under a TNR program. I have added the information about TNR colonies as the report states: 'the results of this study should be interpreted with some caution as the samples were collected from feral cats that were trapped by caretakers for the purpose of neutering'. This must mean TNR programmes.

Ear-tipped feral cat - a badge that he is part of a managed colony and as healthy as a domestic cat. Photo: Pinterest.

That qualification is quite important because feral cats looked after by volunteers certainly improves health. These cats are spayed and neutered and returned to where they came from. Sometimes they are vaccinated and of course during the spaying and neutering operation they can at least be checked out by a veterinarian or vet tech. 

It is probably fair to say that feral cats in a TNR colony managed by volunteers are not entirely typical of all feral cats in America. That said, there are many volunteers managing feral cat colonies performing TNR programs. 

The information, I think, is important because there are many detractors of the feral cat. One of the reasons for criticising the feral cat is that they spread disease. You hear this a lot from residents of any location in America. 

But it seems, on the basis of this study, that they don't spread disease any more than any other cat including domestic cats. And importantly the study indirectly praises TNR programs. It is the kind of information that needs to be presented in council meetings up and down America's towns when discussing how to deal with the ubiquitous 'feral cat problem'. There is hardly a problem if the cats are as healthy as domestic cats and provided they are fed at set times only to avoid attracting wildlife.

The study found that the prevalence of FIV and FelV was lower in feral cats than in domestic cats. They also found that the most prevalent or common infections in feral cats within their study were as follows:

• Bartonella henselae, which causes cat scratch fever in people;
• Feline Coronavirus (FCoV), which is a common viral infection in cats generally asymptomatic which can cause mild diarrhoea. Pathogenic oronavirus ccan lead to feline infectious peritonitis (FIP)
• Mycoplasma spp., which is a bacterial infection usually of the respiratory system and urinary tract, as I understand it;
• D. immitis, which is heartworm, a blood-borne parasite that resides in the heart or adjacent large blood vessels of infected animals;
• T. gondii, which is toxoplasmosis, a well-known, usually asymptomatic disease in cats and in people which has been well discussed on the Internet.

This is a cross post so if you like to look at the first post on this topic then please click on this link. 

And if you'd like to read the original report from the scientists then please click on the link below:

Infectious diseases in TNR colony feral cats in N. Florida 

It is published on the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery (2004) 6, 287e296.

Should cat rescue centre staff wear plastic gloves, aprons, foot covers and arm protectors?

Should cat rescue centre staff wear plastic gloves, aprons, foot covers and arm protectors and throw them away each time they leave one of the cat's pens?



The intention must be to reduce the transmission of contagious diseases from cat to cat via humans but the downside is (a) expense and (b) more plastic to be thrown away and is it recycled?

Evesham Cats Protection

Cats Protection in Wickhamford near Evesham have introduced this new anti-contagion regime and the staff are up in arms against it. They say the cat charity has 'lost sight of its main purpose' and is wasting donated money.

I'd imagine that is is very expensive to throw away these plastic items every time a staff member moves from one pen to another and it must slow down the work at hand too.

Cats Protection defend the method by saying that they adhere to strict disease control measures. They say that the prevention of disease is a way of reducing environmental hazards. They said this because they realise that producing piles of plastic waste achieves the opposite.

Source: Worcester News.

Horizontal Transmission of Feline Diseases

Horizontal transmission means that a disease is transferred from one individual cat to another or others as opposed to vertical transmission when the disease is transferred from a mother to her offspring.

Infection can be transmitted both when a cat is going through the acute phase of a disease and is ill or during the incubation period before the cat becomes ill.  In addition, recovered cats can be carriers.  They are healthy but spread infection.

Horizontal transmission can be by direct cat-to-cat contact or via an inanimate objects or through the air.

In direct contact a part of an animal makes contact with the part of another animal such as when one cat grooms another with his tongue.  Fighting is another example.  Disease can be transmitted through sexual intercourse in cats. This is not a "significant route of infection in the UK"¹.

Contact via a cat fight. Photo by ilovebutter

In indirect contact two or more animals come into contact with the same intermediary object.  It might be bedding material or a feeding bowl.

While some infectious agents (pathogens) can remain viable in the environment from long-time, particularly in favourable conditions such as dark and damp conditions, they are frequently fragile organisms which are easily killed by disinfectants, drying out, heat and light.

Feline parvovirus can survive for very long periods in the environment.  In general, infectious agents that are transmitted indirectly are hardy and more difficult to kill using the usual methods.

We are all aware of the airborne method of spreading disease.  The infection is spread in droplets produced when the cat coughs or sneezes.  This method of transmission is particularly important with respect to respiratory diseases.

Finally, some infectious agents don't pass directly from one individual to another but they spend part of their life cycle on or in another host with a vector for transmission.  The example is the tapeworm affecting cats.  Small rodents are used as an intermediate host and fleas as the vector.  I have a page on that.

1. The Welfare of Cats K. Sturgess.