TB

Source Author Year Title Quote
Northland Regional Council Environmental Management Committee Meeting Tabled Item 30/07/2014 Neil MacMillian Chairman Tbfree Northland et al. 2014 Update on Bovine Tuberculosis (TB) in Northland – tabled item “In terms of TB in Northland, there are currently seven herds…which have tested positive. A high level of TB infection has been found in young stock and there has been movement of infected calves traced to a farm south of Kaitaia…response by TBfree NZ has included…wildlife surveys to assess infection in wild animals such as possums and wild pigs. To date, 47 pigs and 340 possums have been sampled from the Awanui area and no TB infection has been found in wild animals…TBfree NZ are still investigating…findings so far show that dairy cattle sales and stock movements are very complex and that Northland TB strains are slightly different to those found in 2009.”
Northland Regional Council Environmental Management Committee Meeting Tabled Item 30/07/2014 Neil MacMillian Chairman Tbfree Northland et al. 2014 Update on Bovine Tuberculosis (TB) in Northland – tabled item “Dispose of dead stock properly…don’t allow wild animals such as pigs to access open offal pits – this could result in TB transfer to wildlife”
Northland Regional Council Environmental Management Committee Meeting Tabled Item 30/07/2014 Neil MacMillian Chairman Tbfree Northland et al. 2014 Update on Bovine Tuberculosis (TB) in Northland – tabled item “Infected Herd Objective: Reduce infected herd numbers in the Northern and Central North Isaland to below five by 30 June 2013: Progress: This objective will not be achieved due to the recent breakdowns in Northland, Taranaki and Waikato”
Northland Regional Council Environmental Management Committee Meeting Tabled Item 30/07/2014 Neil MacMillian Chairman Tbfree Northland et al. 2014 Update on Bovine Tuberculosis (TB) in Northland – tabled item “Infected herds by type at July 2013:..These figures represent a significant increase in infected herds in the North Island but also a small increase in the South Island.”
Northland Regional Council Environmental Management Committee Meeting Tabled Item 30/07/2014 Neil MacMillian Chairman Tbfree Northland et al. 2014 Update on Bovine Tuberculosis (TB) in Northland – tabled item “These infections began with the diagnosis of one herd in Awanui area in December 2012. Stock movements prior to infection being detected have since been traced by TBfree New Zealand and resulted in the subsequent diagnosis in six linked herds”
Northland Regional Council Environmental Management Committee Meeting Tabled Item 30/07/2014 Neil MacMillian Chairman Tbfree Northland et al. 2014 Update on Bovine Tuberculosis (TB) in Northland – tabled item “To date the wildlife surveys implemented by TBfree New Zealand have resulted in no TB being detected. This is a positive outcome as it means that Tb does not appear to be present in the local wildlife population”
Northland Regional Council Environmental Management Committee Meeting Tabled Item 30/07/2014 Neil MacMillian Chairman Tbfree Northland et al. 2014 Update on Bovine Tuberculosis (TB) in Northland – tabled item “To date 47 pigs from the Awanui area and 132 pigs from wider Northland have been surveyed for the presence of TB, to date no TB has been identified.”
Northland Regional Council Environmental Management Committee Meeting Tabled Item 30/07/2014 Neil MacMillian Chairman Tbfree Northland et al. 2014 Update on Bovine Tuberculosis (TB) in Northland – tabled item “…a 2,373 hectare possum survey has been undertaken in the Awanui area with 340 possums and three stoats captured. To date no wildlife TB infection has been identified.”
Northland Regional Council Environmental Management Committee Meeting Tabled Item 30/07/2014 Neil MacMillian Chairman Tbfree Northland et al. 2014 Update on Bovine Tuberculosis (TB) in Northland – tabled item “Compliance: at the time of this report there are 16 cattle herds 180+ days overdue for testing. This equates to 15 per cent of the national total for overdue tests. A number of these herd owners have been in discussions with the North Island Compliance Manager as they are unable to muster their stock or they have become feral…Unregistered herds are also of concern in the Northland Region.”
Northland Regional Council Environmental Management Committee Meeting Tabled Item 30/07/2014 Neil MacMillian Chairman Tbfree Northland et al. 2014 Update on Bovine Tuberculosis (TB) in Northland – tabled item “If TB becomes present in domestic stock and that stock is able to be scavenged by wildlife this can then lead to the speed infection into the wildlife population.”
Northland Regional Council Environmental Management Committee Meeting Tabled Item 30/07/2014 Neil MacMillian Chairman Tbfree Northland et al. 2014 Update on Bovine Tuberculosis (TB) in Northland – tabled item “…the vector surveys conducted in the areas surrounding these breakdowns would suggest there is no TB present in the areas wildlife population. Within VFAs such as Northland movement of stock from higher risk areas is generally the primary source of TB.”
Rural News 22/10/2013 Andrew Swallow 2013 Rangitata TB came from West Coast “Tb Free New Zealand says recent cases of the disease in two herds in the Rangitata/Orari area of South Canterbury were a West Coast strain…This confirms that the herds have become infected from bought-in TB infected cattle…A wildlife “survey” in the area caught 996 possums, all of which tested free of the disease.””
Straight Furrow 07/05/2013 Frank Pravitt 2013 Bovine TB spread – outbreak affects six Taranaki herds “The Taranaki outbreak of bovine tuberculosis (TB) has spread in the region. The disease has been found in a second dairy herd near Opunake, bringing to six the number of infected herds in the province…The new infection and rh potential infection were identified by tracing movements of animals from the infected herds…The AHB’s investigation into the source of the outbreak showed no wrongdoing by the herd’s owners. “To our knowledge, they have all followed due process, and been compliant with regulations””
Kea Conservation Trust updates 16/12/13 Kea Conservation Trust 2013 Kea Conservation Trust (KCT) Update “28/10/13 Controversial 1080 poison will be used in Kahurangi National Park and bordering areas from tomorrow, with supporters and opponents clashing over its benefits and costs. TBfree New Zealand will undertake the large-scale operation to control the bovine tuberculosis (TB) infected possum population…The aerial operation will cover about 22,600 hectares of the national park and adjacent forestry blocks in the upper Takaka and Barron areas across the lower Flora Stream, Mt Campbell and the upper Riwaka…Chair of the Kea Conservation Trust, Tasmin Orr- Walker said 1080 was the best option for widespread pest control in the South Island – as destruction of kea nests by pests was still the greatest threat for the birds. ‘It would be great if someone found an alternative, but at the moment there isn’t anything practical in the South Island area,’ she said.”
Otago Daily Times Online News 21/08/13 Ashleigh Stewart 2013 Kea killed in 1080 operation “The repellent was used in a DOC pest control operation over 10,619 hectares around Otira and a nearby TBfree New Zealand operation at Taipo over 10, 130 hectares from June 26 to August 1.
Waikato Times Age letters 23/11/2012 Paul Livingstone 2012 TB eradication “The clearest demonstration of the role possums play in the spread of TB is the fact that, since widespread possum control recommenced in the mid-1990s, the number of infected cattle and deer herd has plummeted from 1700 to 60”
Nestor Notabilis 6 Kea Conservation Trust 2012 Whare Kea Lodge and Chalet “Through the webcam we can monitor bird activity at the chalet in the Albert Burn saddle.”
Otago Daily Times Online News 12/09/11 Otago Daily Times Online News 12/09/11 2011 Seven keas dead in the wake of 1080 work “The recent aerial 1080 operation was three years in planning and jointly run by the Animal Health Board and DoC. It covered 30,000 ha, including the South Okarito kiwi sanctuary, North Okarito forest, and a large forested buffer zone around Franz Josef township. The operation intended to protect New Zealand’s rarest kiwi – the rowi – from rats, stoats and possums, as well as protecting local farms from the threat of bovine tuberculosis”
Otago Daily Times Online News 22/06/10 Keith Ulisse 2010 1080 use is a money-go-round “…killing a TB-laden rabbit and not collecting the carcass so the TB bacillus can get back into the soil (where it originally comes from) (and where it infects grazing animals from), sorta negates the benefit of a 1080 kill on rabbit or any animal that is in fact maybe even carrying TB…after it has been scavenged by just any bird and or mammal in its environment, to share not only its poison but also its TB.”
The adventures of PK Maebo & Jimjam 9/2/09 Jaimie Stewart 2009 Kea catching “The kea was then “processed”, you know, like processed food. Out of Franny’s bag of tricks came a radiotransmitter, with nylon string to attach it, a beak-measuring device, scales and other fandangos…Oh yeah, I was going to talk abut 1080 and keas. Well the story as far as I can make out is that despite years of scepticism from DOC scientists, recent studies of mortality following an aerial 1080 drop have shown keas dying from 1080 poisoning…One point it is always worth making is that much of the 1080 poisoning in NZ is undertaken by the Animal Health Board in its ongoing battle with TB…But whatever way this does seem to be a big problem. Don’t quote me on this, but abut 1/3 of the keas habitat is under rotational TB control. Alarm bells seem to be ringing and DOC has teamed up with Landcare Research to investigate an effective bird repellent. It will be interesting to see what happens and if the planned drop in Okarito forest goes ahead”
Environmental Risk Management Authority Agency App. N p 748 2007 ERMA reassessment of 1080 “Tb is present in many predator populations, in particular ferrets, stoats and cats..the high correlation between Tb in domestic livestock and Tb in predators indicates that some sort of relationship exists”
Veterinary Microbiology 112: 211-219 T.J. Ryan et al 2006 Advances in understanding disease epidemiology and implications for control and eradication of tuberculosis in livestock: The experience from New Zealand “Possums in the advanced stages of tuberculosis become debilitated, are unable to climb, and may be seen wandering around during daylight. It is under these conditions that contact with livestock is most likely (Paterson and Morris, 1995).
Veterinary Microbiology 112: 211-219 T.J. Ryan et al 2006 Advances in understanding disease epidemiology and implications for control and eradication of tuberculosis in livestock: The experience from New Zealand “Ferret-to-livestock transmission is thought to occur the same way as that for possums (Sauter and Morris, 1995). Culling of infected ferret populations reduces the incidence of tuberculosis in sympatric livestock suggesting that significant ferret-to-livestock transmission occurs (Caley et al., 1998)”
Veterinary Microbiology 112: 211-219 T.J. Ryan et al 2006 Advances in understanding disease epidemiology and implications for control and eradication of tuberculosis in livestock: The experience from New Zealand “Wild deer have also been suggested as possible reservoir hosts…The spread of tuberculosis in farmed deer…and in white-tailed deer in Michigan…in the absence of infection of other hosts, leaves no doubt that deer can be true maintenance hosts for tuberculosis when the contact rate between them is high enough.”
Veterinary Microbiology 112: 211-219 T.J. Ryan et al 2006 Advances in understanding disease epidemiology and implications for control and eradication of tuberculosis in livestock: The experience from New Zealand “In feral pigs very high tuberculosis prevalences of 100% are routinely recorded wherever infection in other wildlife is common…pathology indicates most pigs are infected by feeding on tuberculosis carrion…Pigs are wide ranging and often forage in large family groups so whole-group feeding on a single carcass may often amplify the number of infected animals.”
Veterinary Microbiology 112: 211-219 T.J. Ryan et al 2006 Advances in understanding disease epidemiology and implications for control and eradication of tuberculosis in livestock: The experience from New Zealand “With animal movement, in a study of cattle and deer in the Waikato district, it was found that only 10% of cattle herds were “closed”. Further, 13% of animals were moved between farms over one year…Models of this “population” suggested that the “intensity of disease surveillance” has profound effects on the ability to reduce the number of infected herds (Barlow et al., 1998). As a result, surveillance intensity was increased, and there was a rapid reduction in herd prevalence.”
Veterinary Microbiology 112: 211-219 T.J. Ryan et al 2006 Advances in understanding disease epidemiology and implications for control and eradication of tuberculosis in livestock: The experience from New Zealand “Average cattle and deer herd size has been steadily increasing…Twelve percent of dairy herds have 500 or more animals, and there are” virtual super herds”…High prevalence breakdowns in such herds have occurred…Movements of animals in-and-out of such herds is a plausible cause, but “stress” leading to immune dysfunction probably also contributes.”
Veterinary Microbiology 112: 211-219 T.J. Ryan et al 2006 Advances in understanding disease epidemiology and implications for control and eradication of tuberculosis in livestock: The experience from New Zealand “Accurately identifying all infected and non-infected animals is challenging…With M. Bovis infection, particular problems are an extended pre-clinical period, some animals being unable to mount a normal immune response, and waning of cellular immunity after prolonged infection…Conversely, other non-pathogenic and pathogenic mycobacteria…frequently infect and sensitize cattle and farmed deer”
Veterinary Microbiology 112: 211-219 T.J. Ryan et al 2006 Advances in understanding disease epidemiology and implications for control and eradication of tuberculosis in livestock: The experience from New Zealand “Strategic surveys of wildlife as part of a Tuberculosis Management Area plan may also be conducted, especially where cattle and farmed deer densities are adjudged as being too low to give reliable timely information on the tuberculosis status of an area…Sentinel animals, such as ferrets or feral pigs, may be used as it is difficult to find M. bovis infected possums… Culture may be used to enhance sensitivity and, in some cases, tissues may be pool before culture to reduce costs”
Tuberculosis 81: 191-202 J.D. Coleman, M.M. Cooke 2001 Mycobacterium bovis infections in wildlife in New Zealand “…some deer species and ferrets may act as vectors of the disease, but their role in transmitting TB to livestock is unclear. Hedgehogs, pigs, cats, sheep and goats are now considered to be amplifier hosts, and spread the disease to other species only when inspected or their carcass scavenged.”
Tuberculosis 81: 191-202 J.D. Coleman, M.M. Cooke 2001 Mycobacterium bovis infections in wildlife in New Zealand “A search for a likely reservoir in wild and feral animals identified tuberculosis possums co-existing with several chronically infected cattle herds.”
Tuberculosis 81: 191-202 J.D. Coleman, M.M. Cooke 2001 Mycobacterium bovis infections in wildlife in New Zealand “All of these species are potential hosts of M. Bovis, and the disease has been recorded in at least 14 of them, including free-living possums, hedgehogs, a rabbit, hares, stoats, ferrets, cats, pigs, cattle, goats, sheep, red deer, sika deer, and fallow deer”.
Tuberculosis 81: 191-202 J.D. Coleman, M.M. Cooke 2001 Mycobacterium bovis infections in wildlife in New Zealand “Few rats or mice have, however, been examined for evidence of Tb, and their host status is unknown.”
Tuberculosis 81: 191-202 J.D. Coleman, M.M. Cooke 2001 Mycobacterium bovis infections in wildlife in New Zealand “In endemic areas, rats have ample opportunity to inhale or ingest M. Bovis bacilli during their scavenging of infected carrion, and of transmitting Tb to other species when scavenged themselves.”
Tuberculosis 81: 191-202 J.D. Coleman, M.M. Cooke 2001 Mycobacterium bovis infections in wildlife in New Zealand “Rusa, wapiti and white-tailed deer are primarily forest-dwelling species occurring in several locations in New Zealand. Sambar occupy farmlands/scrub margins over the same range as infected livestock and wildlife in some endemic areas, and it is presumably only a matter of time before local herds of sambar join the ranks of cervid species infected with Tb.”
Tuberculosis 81: 191-202 J.D. Coleman, M.M. Cooke 2001 Mycobacterium bovis infections in wildlife in New Zealand “The mode of transmission between possums and livestock is poorly understood and difficult to study. However, dominant cattle and deer have been observed to approach semi-sedated (“sick”) possums, and sniff and mouth them. Such exploratory behaviour is likely to expose both livestock species and presumably also wild deer to infection. It is likely that possums are also an important source of infection for ferrets, feral cats, stoats, hedgehogs, feral pigs, and other possums, which have all been recorded scavenging the carcasses of infected possums.”
Tuberculosis 81: 191-202 J.D. Coleman, M.M. Cooke 2001 Mycobacterium bovis infections in wildlife in New Zealand “Tuberculosis has been recorded in a small number of stoats …Disease prevalences are unknown, and estimates of them are difficult, due to the rapid turnover of stoat populations and difficulty in trapping them.”
Tuberculosis 81: 191-202 J.D. Coleman, M.M. Cooke 2001 Mycobacterium bovis infections in wildlife in New Zealand “The discovery of M. Bovis infection in ferrets in southern area of New Zealand, such as Otago and the MacKenzie Basin, has raised the possibility that this species may also act as a maintenance host of infection.”
Tuberculosis 81: 191-202 J.D. Coleman, M.M. Cooke 2001 Mycobacterium bovis infections in wildlife in New Zealand “Because of their scarcity relative to possums, feral cats in New Zealand are an unlikely source of infection in livestock.”
Tuberculosis 81: 191-202 J.D. Coleman, M.M. Cooke 2001 Mycobacterium bovis infections in wildlife in New Zealand “Feral tuberculous cattle…appear to have obtained M. Bovis from domestic cattle and/or wildlife maintenance hosts such as possums. Their penchant, particularly that of feral bulls, for seeking out and mixing with farmed livestock, provides an opportunity for the transmission of Tb to domestic cattle.”
Tuberculosis 81: 191-202 J.D. Coleman, M.M. Cooke 2001 Mycobacterium bovis infections in wildlife in New Zealand “Spread of infection from cattle to possums occurs relatively easily, because of the natural curiosity of cattle and their tendency to investigate terminally ill possums, which often behave normally by wandering around in daylight.”
Tuberculosis 81: 191-202 J.D. Coleman, M.M. Cooke 2001 Mycobacterium bovis infections in wildlife in New Zealand “Tuberculosis has been identified in a limited number of feral goat populations, but none of them have been studied in detail.”
Tuberculosis 81: 191-202 J.D. Coleman, M.M. Cooke 2001 Mycobacterium bovis infections in wildlife in New Zealand “However, as very few hares have been necropsied, it is possible that they may be more commonly infected with M. Bovis than rabbits, particularly in areas where there is heavy environmental contamination with tubercule bacilli.”
Tuberculosis 81: 191-202 J.D. Coleman, M.M. Cooke 2001 Mycobacterium bovis infections in wildlife in New Zealand “Possum-to-cattle transmission is thought to occur when cattle investigate disorientated, diseased possums wandering in pastures close to their bush habitats (R.S. Morris, pers. commun.)”