Vaccination is not a ‘magic bullet’ for bovine TB

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee report, published yesterday, outlined the benefits and problems related to vaccinating both badgers and cattle, and concluded that it would be expensive and provide little guarantee of protection in the immediate future.

It said the UK government had been right to invest in vaccination development, but recommended that vaccines be incorporated as part of a wider programme of action to tackle the disease, rather than relied on as a “magic bullet”.​

“We should use every tool to combat this disease, but vaccination alone will not, at least in the short-term, provide a complete solution. Vaccines have no impact on already infected animals, offer a range of protection to those that aren’t infected, and will be expensive to deploy,”​ said EFRA Committee chair Anne McIntosh MP.

Expensive option​

The UK has spent more than £43m on vaccine research and development since 1994 and the EFRA report predicted that Defra would spend a further £15m by the end of the current spending period. Deploying vaccinations will also be expensive - it is estimated that the injectable badger vaccine would cost £2,000-£4,000 per km2, while the cattle vaccine costs £5-6 per dose.

The EFRA report stated that smale-scale studies to test the efficacy of the cattle vaccine had shown it to have a protective effect of 56-68%. However, it added that it would have no impact on animals that had already been infected.

“Before deployment the Government must undertake and publish a robust cost-benefit analysis. Over the short term, use of the vaccine will impose an additional cost and may increase the administrative and testing burdens farmers already face,”​ said McIntosh.

The report added that the injectable BCG vaccine for badgers would also not offer “complete protection” and similarly had no effect on infected animals. An oral baited vaccine could offer a more affordable and practical way of vaccinating badgers, but the report stated that the development of the vaccine and process for deployment could take “several years” to resolve.

“Once developed, an oral vaccine is unlikely to provide an immediate or complete solution. If herd immunity can be achieved, then it will still take many years as well as considerable effort and expense. While this is the most likely way to create a healthy badger population, it is vital the challenges involved are fully understood by all those interested in this subject,”​ McIntosh explained.

EFRA said government should invest in the development of a better test for bovine TB, pointing out that the current skin test “could miss one in four infected cows”​. It said that the government “must explore”​ the potential use of more expensive blood tests, despite the possible costs.

Badger cull​

Bovine TB is a huge problem for UK cattle farmers, but a proposed badger cull to tackle the disease has caused considerable controversy. MPs in the House of Commons voted on the cull yesterday, and it was passed by a majority of 49 votes following a fierce debate.

The vote was welcomed by UK farmers, which have been campaigning for some time for a cull, arguing that it is the only way for them to protect their cattle.

National Farmers Union deputy president Meurig Raymond said: “Today’s vote is a ringing endorsement of the comprehensive strategy to bear down on TB and rid our countryside of this disease. Farmers are doing all they can to help prevent TB in cattle through rigorous testing of cattle, movement controls and biosecurity measures.​"