Tuberculosis in deer

Authors: Hellstrom J
Publication: New Zealand Veterinary Journal, Volume 27, Issue 8, pp 151, Aug 1979
Publisher: Taylor and Francis

Animal type: Deer, Livestock, Production animal, Ruminant
Subject Terms: Bacterial, Mycobacterial, Disease/defect, Zoonosis, Infectious disease, Public health
Article class: General Article

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Abstract: It is an intriguing observation on the history of state veterinary medicine that major disease problems of the past usually generated less public debate than many of the minor problems of today; Mycobacterium bovis infection of cattle and farmed deer in New Zealand illustrates this paradox. It took many years of campaigning by a few dedicated individuals before a bovine tuberculosis eradication scheme was established, yet within a few months of the discovery of the same infection in farmed deer there have been numerous demands for government action. The existence of a reservoir of M. bovis infection in wild deer has been recognized for many years, although the prevalence of infection has never been high…

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