If you were wondering what the European Commission were doing about Bovine TB... Heres your answer. (Its a bit sciency though)... They have set up the MacroSys project to address the genetics of susceptibility of cattle to diseases caused by mycobacteria, Bovine tuberculosis (TB), which is caused by M. bovis and Johne’s disease (Para-TB), which is caused by M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP). With me so far? To achieve this they have been studying macrophage (immune response) to in vitro (cultured) infection. The goal was to identify specific gene responses to infection which could be utilised to developed more effective diagnostic tests... Further implications for this project equate to animal welfare and husbandry, sustainability of the cattle market industry and, quite importantly, bacterial controls for human pathogens... Anyways, its quite a lot to take in, but there are some interesting points within... For example: Mycobacteria are able to survive outside the animal for extended periods of time in the environment including in river water, pond water, bovine faeces and soil. The organism is resistant to many disinfectants and so contamination from infected animals is difficult to control. Bacteria shed by infected animals are directly transferred to pen mates. However, with such robust organisms the inevitable escape of the bacteria into the environment has the potential for transmission to other farms on vehicles and clothing, to human food processing plants or to wildlife populations. Biosecurity anyone? Go have a look... cordis.europa.eu/result/rcn/140586_en.html
Posted on: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 09:20:52 +0000
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