Diagnosis of tuberculosis in groups of badgers: an exploration of the impact of trapping efficiency, infection prevalence and the use of multiple tests

Buzdugan, S N; Chambers, M A; Delahay, R J; Drewe, J A

Abstract

Accurate detection of infection with Mycobacterium bovis in live badgers would enable targeted tuberculosis control. Practical challenges in sampling wild badger populations mean that diagnosis of infection at the group (rather than the individual) level is attractive. We modelled data spanning 7 years containing over 2000 sampling events from a population of wild badgers in southwest England to quantify the ability to correctly identify the infection status of badgers at the group level. We explored the effects of variations in: (1) trapping efficiency; (2) prevalence of M. bovis; (3) using three diagnostic tests singly and in combination with one another; and (4) the number of badgers required to test positive in order to classify groups as infected. No single test was able to reliably identify infected badger groups if 80% sensitive, at least 94% specific, and able to be performed rapidly in the field.

Citation

Buzdugan, S. N., Chambers, M. A., Delahay, R. J., & Drewe, J. A. (2016). Diagnosis of tuberculosis in groups of badgers: an exploration of the impact of trapping efficiency, infection prevalence and the use of multiple tests. Epidemiology and Infection, 144(8), 1717-1727. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0950268815003210

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 30, 2015
• Publication Date: Jan 6, 2016
• Deposit Date: Jun 3, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 3, 2016
• Journal: EPIDEMIOLOGY AND INFECTION
• Print ISSN: 0950-2688
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 144
• Issue: 8
• Pages: 1717-1727
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0950268815003210
• Public URL: https://rvc-repository.worktribe.com/output/1398129