Bovine Tuberculosis

Question

How many cases of bovine tuberculosis have occurred in humans in the United Kingdom for each year since 1995; what were the age groups of those infected; how many of the cases were attributed to drinking raw milk from cows infected with bovine tuberculosis from farms in the United Kingdom; in how many cases the disease was believed to have been acquired from sources outside the United Kingdom; and what has been the outcome of treatment.

Answer

The number of cases of bovine tuberculosis which have occurred in humans in the United Kingdom for each year since 1995:

	UK
1995	32
1996	37
1997	46
1998	40
1999	41
2000	29
2001	33
2002	19
2003	21
2004	21
2005	39

Age groups of those infected:

	0-14	15-44	45-64	65+	N/K	Total
1995	0	3	7	19	3	32
1996	0	2	11	20	4	37
1997	2	8	8	28	0	46
1998	0	7	10	21	2	40
1999	0	8	16	17	0	41
2000	0	7	10	11	1	29
2001	0	5	8	20	0	33
2002	0	3	3	15	1	19
2003	1	2	6	12	0	21
2004	0	8	3	9	1	21
2005	0	12	10	17	0	39

Three-quarters of the cases reported between 1994 and 2004 involved individuals aged 50 years and above. This suggests that a majority of the cases are attributable to re-activation of latent infection, possibly acquired prior to implementation of controls such as milk pasteurisation and tuberculin screening of cattle. Information on non-UK sources of infection is not available. For the majority of cases, information on the outcome of treatment is not held centrally.