As my PhD supervisor used to say, "Nice hypothesis, now go do the experiment!".
What is lacking with research into bovine TB (bTB) vaccination is evidence. The fact is, nobody really knows how effective vaccinating an already heavily infected population of animals that are highly susceptible to a pathogen and which competent research has shown don't respond particularly well to experimental vaccination and challenge will be. The general biologists' opinion is "Not very".
Astrophysicists such as Dr May are however extremely hopeful, an expectancy no doubt buoyed up by having no relevant experience of biology worth mentioning (save for quite a lot in human narcotic pharmacology, if scurrilous rumour be true).
So, we shall have to wait for the results of the trials with bated breath. One thing is not actually in doubt in this entire sorry debacle: if you actually want to drive the incidence of bTB down to near zero and don't give a hoot for public opinion, then gassing setts with lethal fumigants is definitely the way to go. This, along with stringent biosecurity and testing of cattle, was what almost extincted the bTB organism last time we had a serious crack at it.
So, the conundrum now remains: can bovine tuberculosis be fought with a metaphorical hand tied behind one's back, or do we need to engage brain before acting?
As my PhD supervisor used to say, "Nice hypothesis, now go do the experiment!".
ReplyDeleteWhat is lacking with research into bovine TB (bTB) vaccination is evidence. The fact is, nobody really knows how effective vaccinating an already heavily infected population of animals that are highly susceptible to a pathogen and which competent research has shown don't respond particularly well to experimental vaccination and challenge will be. The general biologists' opinion is "Not very".
Astrophysicists such as Dr May are however extremely hopeful, an expectancy no doubt buoyed up by having no relevant experience of biology worth mentioning (save for quite a lot in human narcotic pharmacology, if scurrilous rumour be true).
So, we shall have to wait for the results of the trials with bated breath. One thing is not actually in doubt in this entire sorry debacle: if you actually want to drive the incidence of bTB down to near zero and don't give a hoot for public opinion, then gassing setts with lethal fumigants is definitely the way to go. This, along with stringent biosecurity and testing of cattle, was what almost extincted the bTB organism last time we had a serious crack at it.
So, the conundrum now remains: can bovine tuberculosis be fought with a metaphorical hand tied behind one's back, or do we need to engage brain before acting?