PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Tuberculosis and the social lives of badgers

2013-10-21
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Mary Beth O'Leary
moleary@cell.com
617-397-2802
Cell Press
Tuberculosis and the social lives of badgers Badgers are an important wildlife reservoir for tuberculosis infection, a disease that leads thousands of cattle to slaughter each year. Now, researchers reporting in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on October 21 have found that the spread of the disease is influenced in surprising ways by infected badgers, and especially by the details of their social lives.

"In wild animals, just as in humans, social networks are very important for disease transmission," says Robbie McDonald of the University of Exeter. "When management changes stable networks, the results for disease control are often counterintuitive and unexpected."

By using special collars that tracked social interactions, first author Nicola Weber, working with colleagues at the National Wildlife Management Centre at Woodchester Park in rural England, found that tuberculosis (TB)-infected badgers were more isolated from their own social groups than were uninfected badgers. However, Weber also found that infected badgers were more likely to form social linkages for the flow of infection to other groups. As a result, infected badgers are less likely to spread the disease within their own groups but more likely to facilitate spread across a network.

"This unusual social arrangement may help explain why TB tends not to spread easily in undisturbed badger populations but also may help explain why, when their social networks are perturbed, infection spreads quickly to other badgers and onwards to cattle," McDonald says.

The researchers refer to these infected animals as "spread capacitors" because they are passive components in the network that can hold and discharge infection but tend to stabilize flow. "That's in contrast to the more familiar notion of 'super-spreader' individuals that are thought to spread infection disproportionately because of their high connectedness in a network," McDonald explains.

The findings suggest that badger management efforts will be most effective when they maintain stability and do not disrupt social networks. And that means it might be more effective in the long term to vaccinate badgers than it is to attempt to cull them.

"The good news is that vaccination does not disturb social structure," McDonald says. "The sort of social structure we have observed -- where relatively few individuals might be responsible for disease spread -- lends itself to vaccination and could lead quite rapidly to herd immunity."

###

Current Biology, Weber et al.: "Badger social networks correlate with tuberculosis infection"


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Traffic-related air pollution a substantial public health concern

2013-10-21
Traffic-related air pollution a substantial public health concern Traffic-related air pollution is increasingly shown to have negative health effects according to a growing body of epidemiologic evidence and is a substantial public health concern ...

Infection connections: Badger surveillance project reveals how TB infects their social networks

2013-10-21
Infection connections: Badger surveillance project reveals how TB infects their social networks Researchers at the University of Exeter and the AHVLA's National Wildlife Management Centre have shown that the social lives of badgers are related to their risk of infection ...

Hair regeneration method is first to induce new human hair growth

2013-10-21
Hair regeneration method is first to induce new human hair growth Technique uses a patient's own cells to grow new hair NEW YORK, NY (October, 21, 2013) — Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) have devised a hair restoration method ...

CWRU makes nanodiamonds in ambient conditions

2013-10-21
CWRU makes nanodiamonds in ambient conditions Opens door for flexible electronics, implants and more CLEVELAND--Instead of having to use tons of crushing force and volcanic heat to forge diamonds, researchers at Case Western Reserve University have ...

In Nepal, villagers' land uses help people and tigers, study finds

2013-10-21
In Nepal, villagers' land uses help people and tigers, study finds Annapolis, Md – Hopeful signs that humans and tigers can coexist are emerging in rural Nepal, where the government has committed to doubling populations of the critically endangered big cat ...

Study explores the role of uncertainty in infectious disease modelling

2013-10-21
Study explores the role of uncertainty in infectious disease modelling Research by scientists at the University of Liverpool has found that greater consideration of the limitations and uncertainties present in every infectious disease model would improve ...

Targeting cancer's sweet tooth

2013-10-21
Targeting cancer's sweet tooth A study of how cancer cells get energy and raw materials for growth from glucose opens doors to new therapies October 21, 2013, New York, NY– Ludwig researchers have elucidated a key mechanism by which cancer cells ...

Maternal smoking may impair infant immunity, causing a broad range of infections

2013-10-21
Maternal smoking may impair infant immunity, causing a broad range of infections Smoking cessation, even during pregnancy, may reduce infant hospitalizations and death ORLANDO. Fla. – Maternal smoking is associated with both respiratory and non-respiratory ...

NUS scientists identify molecular switch that suppresses development of liver cancer

2013-10-21
NUS scientists identify molecular switch that suppresses development of liver cancer Findings by researchers contribute towards the development and application of therapeutics for liver cancer A team of scientists from the National University of Singapore ...

The Danes do not abandon church Christianity

2013-10-21
The Danes do not abandon church Christianity "We know from numerous international studies within sociology, as well as our own research, that people tend to keep the religious values impressed on them during childhood. If we were in the midst of a spiritual ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Canada’s fastest academic supercomputer is now online at SFU after $80m upgrades

Architecture’s past holds the key to sustainable future

Laser correction for short-sightedness is safe and effective for older teenagers

About one in five people taking Ozempic, Wegovy or Mounjaro say food tastes saltier or sweeter than before

Taking semaglutide turns down food noise, research suggests

Type 2 diabetes may double risk of sepsis, large community-based study suggests

New quantum sensors can withstand extreme pressure

Tirzepatide more cost-effective than semaglutide in patients with knee osteoarthritis and obesity

GLP-1 drugs shown cost-effective for knee osteoarthritis and obesity

Interactive apps, AI chatbots promote playfulness, reduce privacy concerns

How NIL boosts college football’s competitive balance

Moffitt researchers develop machine learning model to predict urgent care visits for lung cancer patients

Construction secrets of honeybees: Study reveals how bees build hives in tricky spots

Wheat disease losses total $2.9 billion across the United States and Canada between 2018 and 2021

New funding fuels development of first potentially regenerative treatment for multiple sclerosis

NJIT student–faculty team wins best presentation award for ant swarm simulation

Ants defend plants from herbivores but can hinder pollination

When the wireless data runs dry

Inquiry into the history of science shows an early “inherence” bias

Picky eaters endure: Ecologists use DNA to explore diet breadth of wild herbivores

Study suggests most Americans would be healthier without daylight saving time

Increasing the level of the protein PI31 demonstrates neuroprotective effects in mice

Multi-energy X-ray curved surface imaging-with multi-layer in-situ grown scintillators

Metasurface enables compact and high-sensitivity atomic magnetometer

PFAS presence confirmed in the blood of children in Gipuzkoa

Why do people believe lies?

SwRI installs private 5G network for research, development, testing and evaluation

A new perspective in bone metabolism: Targeting the lysosome–iron–mitochondria axis for osteoclast regulation

Few military spouses use formal support services during, after deployment

Breakthrough in the hunt for light dark matter: QROCODILE project reveals world-leading constraints

[Press-News.org] Tuberculosis and the social lives of badgers