JEREMY Clarkson has revealed that one of his puppies has died – just hours after his farm was hit with an outbreak of TB.
The Sun columnist, 64, has confirmed that his Diddly Squat farm will be shut for two months after the “devastating” outbreak yesterday.
PAJeremy has confirmed more tragic news for his farm[/caption]
Bovine Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium bovis, which can also infect and cause disease in humans, cats and dogs.
It is the latest hardship to hit Diddly Squat farm in recent months, after hot and unpredictable weather caused havoc with his crops.
Speaking on Times Radio today, Jeremy said: “It’s awful, it is awful.
“You have a test every six months on the cows and then you sort of become blasé, it’s a hypothetical threat.
“And then the vet looks up as he did yesterday lunchtime and said ‘I’m really sorry this one’s failed’.
“So that means we’re now locked down and it’s just dreadful, absolutely dreadful.
“It’s only been not even 24 hours since I found out and it occupies my mind.
“Well it was occupying my mind but I got up this morning and found one of my puppies has died. And we’ve got a very sickly calf.
“Honestly, farming? I’m not enjoying it this week.”
“[It will be closed for] Certainly two months because that’s how long we have to wait before we do another test.
What is bovine TB?
Bovine Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease of cattle and badgers.
It is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) which can also infect and cause disease in many other mammals including humans, deer, goats, pigs, cats, dogs and badgers.
In cattle, it is mainly a respiratory disease.
What are the symptoms?
It is hard to spot bovine TB as the signs are similar to other diseases and normally only develop in the advanced stages.
It is normally picked up in cattle testing before clinical signs develop or during inspections of slaughtered cattle.
Animals can get thinner, have a light fever that keeps coming back, appear weak and have a reduced appetite.
Some will also have swollen lymph nodes, in the neck and a moist cough which is worse in the morning and during cold weather or exercise.
The government states it may cause chronic mastitis, an infection of the udder.
How is transferred between animals?
Evidence of bovine TB is most commonly found in the lymph glands of throat and lungs of affected animals.
They spread the disease mainly through coughing and sneezing.
Bacteria are released into the air and inhaled by other animals in close contact.
The disease can pass from badgers to cattle via close contact – and vice versa.
Contaminated equipment, animal waste, feed and pasture can also transfer the infection.
Can humans catch it from cattle?
Humans can catch bovine TB through:
unpasteurised milk or dairy products from an infected cow, buffalo, goat or sheep
inhaling bacteria breathed out by infected animals
inhaling bacteria released from the carcasses of infected animals or from their excretions (such as faeces)
Infection is more likely if an unprotected wound is exposed to bacteria from an infected animal.
But the government insists the risk of infection is very low for the vast majority of the population.
Symptoms are similar to human TB, including weight loss, fever, night sweats and a persistent cough.
Anyone who develops these symptoms should consult a doctor.
The disease can be treated by a complex combination of drugs over a long period.
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