Environment, Food and Rural Affairs CommitteeWritten evidence submitted by Philip Robinson

1. I would like to draw the attention of the Committee to a review paper* written by myself and six co-authors from Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and France on the subject of badger BCG vaccination against tuberculosis.

2. The authorial team consisted of five veterinary epidemiologists, a veterinary immunologist, and an OIE-recognised (World Animal Health Organisation) veterinary expert on wildlife diseases.

3. The paper was published in July 2012 in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Comparative Immunology, Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, and may be found at the following web address:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147957112000100

4. The paper reviews both oral and injectable BCG vaccine research in badgers; discusses possible vaccination strategies; and suggests future research which will better enable us to understand the role of badger vaccination in on-going efforts to eradicate bovine TB.

5. We conclude that research into areas such as duration of immunity, the effect of revaccination, whether vaccination reduces M. bovis excretion from badgers already infected, and the excretion patterns of vaccinated badgers subsequently infected, would be very valuable not just for policymaking directly, but would also improve the modelling of vaccine deployment strategies. Perhaps most critical of all would be data from field research to determine the effects of badger vaccination on cattle TB incidence.

We trust that the paper may be helpful to your inquiry.

*Robinson, P A, Corner, L A L, Courcier, E A, McNair, J, Artois, M, Menzies, F D, & Abernethy, D A (2012) BCG vaccination against tuberculosis in European badgers (Meles meles): A Review. Comparative Immunology, Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, 35, 277–287.

Philip Robinson BVMS DSVM MSc MRCVS (and on behalf of my co-authors)

December 2012