Bovine tuberculosis

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is an infectious disease of cattle. It is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis), which can also infect and cause disease in other mammals including deer, goats, pigs, cats, dogs and badgers. It is mainly a respiratory disease in cattle but clinical signs are rare. M. bovis is also a zoonotic disease, primarily in low and middle-income countries (LMICs).

TB in humans can be caused by both M. bovis and the human form, Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In western countries, pasteurisation of milk in the 1930s largely interrupted the zoonotic transmission of M. bovis.

£100 million annual costs for controlling bTB in the UK.

27,000+ cows slaughtered in the UK due to bTB in 2020.