Mycobacterium bovis tuberculosis in hunting hounds

• Published in: Veterinary record Vol. 183; no. 12; pp. 387 - 388
• Main Authors: McGill, Iain, Saunders, Richard, Eastwood, Bronwen, Menache, Andre, Dalzell, Fiona, Hill, Sophie, Irving, Bev, Knight, Andrew, Jones, Mark
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BMJ Publishing Group Limited 29.09.2018; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Animal control; Cattle; Dogs; Tuberculosis; England; Wales
• ISSN: 0042-4900; 2042-7670
• DOI: 10.1136/vr.k4053

[...]detail is needed, but the potential risk of dog-to-human transmission of bovine TB remains “plausible and real”.’1 While we appreciate that Phipps and colleagues wish to protect personal privacy, it seems odd for Public Health England to discourage identification of the hunt at this late stage, as this information was publicly confirmed by Defra more than a year ago. Ellis and colleagues do state that while the previous veterinary consensus had been that dogs were spillover hosts for bovine TB, the canine case they examined had the presence of granulomatous foci in the lung and duodenal mucosa indicating a risk of bacterial excretion.2 They warn of the ‘potential risk of transmission to other animals, household members and other human contacts’.2 We sincerely hope that the risks of bovine TB transmitting from dog to human are indeed low, but the statement by Phipps and others is entirely unsupported by their cited reference,2 and we would ask that they acknowledge this. According to The Sunday Times, even the Masters of Foxhounds Association are now apparently calling for more testing of hound packs,3 although this requires confirmation.