Bovine TB: Research project summary
Project SE3228: A safety study of BCG vaccine in wild badgers – preparatory work.
Project duration: 9 months
The primary purpose of this project was to perform preparatory work to enable BCG vaccine to be tested for safety in wild badgers. This has been achieved for captive badgers under project SE3216. In order to perform a safety study in the field using wild badgers an Animal Test Certificate (ATC) is required from the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD). This was one objective of the project and the ATC was granted in March 2006.
Other project objectives were related to gaining further information that would inform the rational design of the field study. This work included evaluating which immunological tests should be used in order to help stratify the badgers for vaccination and determine if an immune response could be generated, and determining a culture method that was capable of distinguishing badgers that may be excreting low numbers of BCG against high numbers of Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) from a natural infection. All objectives were achieved and a field study to look at the safety of BCG in wild badgers has commenced.
Back to Research projects
Page last modified:
July 7, 2008