In the course of my absence from the site I encountered my first case of bTB in a muntjac, so I thought it might be interesting for others to read about.
The buck was shot on a September evening from a high seat in an area of woodland in Berkshire. The buck was observed for approximately 10 minutes prior to the shot being taken and showed no evidence of any abnormal behaviour.
Post shot, and on initial inspection of the carcass, there was a visible significant external tumour on the buck’s testes:
Alerted to this, the remaining carcass inspection and gralloch took place under field conditions.
Evidence was seen of numerous lesions in the thoracic cavity:
Enlarged mesenteric lymph nodes were also identified:
Following this initial suspicion of Bovine Tuberculosis (bTB) resulted in the entire carcass, including the gralloch, being placed into secured plastic bags, removed from site, and taken back to the larder where it was placed in the chiller.
As most will be aware, in accordance with the Tuberculosis (Deer) Order 1989 (as amended) bTB is a notifiable disease and failure to report suspicion of the disease is an offence (see Notifiable diseases in animals). Therefore the duty vet at the Animal & Plant Health Agency (APHA) was contacted at approximately 08:00 the next day. Later that afternoon the duty vet got in touch via text message and an appointment was made for him to visit the next day to collect the necessary samples for analysis.
Upon arrival we performed the necessary inspection of the carcass, during which the following samples were taken
The buck was shot on a September evening from a high seat in an area of woodland in Berkshire. The buck was observed for approximately 10 minutes prior to the shot being taken and showed no evidence of any abnormal behaviour.
Post shot, and on initial inspection of the carcass, there was a visible significant external tumour on the buck’s testes:
Alerted to this, the remaining carcass inspection and gralloch took place under field conditions.
Evidence was seen of numerous lesions in the thoracic cavity:
Enlarged mesenteric lymph nodes were also identified:
Following this initial suspicion of Bovine Tuberculosis (bTB) resulted in the entire carcass, including the gralloch, being placed into secured plastic bags, removed from site, and taken back to the larder where it was placed in the chiller.
As most will be aware, in accordance with the Tuberculosis (Deer) Order 1989 (as amended) bTB is a notifiable disease and failure to report suspicion of the disease is an offence (see Notifiable diseases in animals). Therefore the duty vet at the Animal & Plant Health Agency (APHA) was contacted at approximately 08:00 the next day. Later that afternoon the duty vet got in touch via text message and an appointment was made for him to visit the next day to collect the necessary samples for analysis.
Upon arrival we performed the necessary inspection of the carcass, during which the following samples were taken
- Lesions in the chest cavity:
- The enlarged mesenteric lymph nodes:
Last edited:
