Mycobacterium bovis infection in badger cubs: Re-assessing the evidence for maternally derived immunological protection from advanced disease

The Eurasian badger (Meles meles) is a significant source of bovine tuberculosis in cattle in the UK and Ireland. Protection from infectious diseases, arising from maternal antibody transfer, is a well-established immunological phenomenon in mammals. In a previous study of wild badgers, transient serological responses in cubs were taken as evidence of maternal antibody transfer, and it was speculated this conferred protection from subsequent mycobacterial excretion following acquisition of tuberculosis. However successful defence against mycobacterial infections is likely to be dominated by a cell-mediated response. Using a substantially larger dataset from the same badger population, we revisited the hypothesis of maternally derived protection. Whilst we found a significant association between transient serological responses and absence of subsequent Mycobacterium bovis excretion, the likelihood of detection of such responses was not significantly associated either with badger age, or with infection in the breeding females within a cub's natal group. We concluded that although maternal antibody transfer in badgers almost certainly occurs, transient serological responses represent an invalid proxy, and the reduced likelihood of M. bovis excretion associated with transient responses was more likely to be due to the lower sensitivity of the Brock ELISA test in detecting badgers with less advanced disease.