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btb strains in four areas in Ireland
Journal
Preventive Veterinary Medicine -
Vol 71, Iss 1-2 , 30 Sept 2005,
pp57-70
Authors
F.J. Olea-Popelka, O. Flynn,
E. Costello,
G. McGrath,
J.D. Collins,
J. O’Keeffe,
D.F. Kelton,
O. Berke,
and S.W. Martin from the Ontario Veterinary College, Canada; Department of
Agriculture and Food, Dublin; Centre of Veterinary Epidemiology
and Risk Assessment, University College Dublin and School of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover, Germany
Abstract
We investigated whether strains (restriction fragment length
polymorphism, RFLP-types) of btb isolated from badgers and from
cattle clustered among and within four areas in Ireland. The spatial scan test
and nearest-neighbour analysis were used as the spatial cluster-detection
techniques. In addition, for each of the major strains, associations between the
distance to badger setts and the “centroid” of the cattle farm were assessed in
a logistic model. Overall, between September 1997 and May
2000, 316 and 287 btb samples,
from badgers and cattle, respectively, were strain-typed. The distribution of
strains in badgers, and separately in cattle, differed among areas. Within each
of the four large areas, badgers and cattle tended to have similar strains; this
is consistent with the sharing of btb strains within an area. In more
detailed within-area analyses, some spatial clusters of btb strains were
detected, separately, in both cattle and badgers. Almost half of the
infected badger setts with a specific strain were located outside of the
“detected” clusters. There was no association between the number of
infected badgers with a specific btb strain within 2 or 5 km distances to cattle herds, and the
risk of the same strain in cattle. We speculate about the dynamic nature of
badger movements, as an explanation for the absence of more clusters of most of
the strains of btb isolated from badgers, and its impact on trying to study
transmission of btb between cattle and badger. Keywords
Spatial; Distribution; M. bovis; Strain; Badgers; Ireland; Cluster
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