Can humans catch Bovine Tuberculosis from badgers?

This may not have been playing heavily on your mind, but we’ve been approached by several people who read on Aviva’s website about the controversy relating to bTB in badgers, and whether it can be passed onto humans.

What are my chances of catching bTB from a badger?

Because these animals mostly explore when we’re all asleep, and only 15% of badgers are actually infected, the chances of a human actually catching bTB directly from a badger are slim. The disease can be transmitted in raw cows’ milk, but pasteurization prevents this. Because all milk is now pasteurized, and cows are regularly tested and culled immediately if infected, it wouldn’t be easy to catch the disease via cows either.

What can you catch from your cute and fluffy friends?

There are 39 important diseases you can catch directly from animals, including:

Psittacosis

You can catch psittacosis by breathing in dust from dried droppings of infected birds. This disease is commonly known as parrot fever.

Brucellosis

Transfers to humans simply by drinking milk of a contaminated goat or cow.

Cat Scratch disease

This spreads to humans by a scratch or bite.

Cryptosporidiosis

Passed onto humans by coming into contact with dog, cat or farm animal waste, of an infected animal.

Mad cow disease

A neurological disorder humans can catch from eating contaminated beef. The disease can be fatal and symptoms include memory loss, hallucinations and personality change.

Hookworm

This is a small parasite that lives in the intestine of infected cats and dogs which can be passed onto humans by bite.

Rabies

Found in dogs, foxes, bats and skunks and can be passed onto humans by coming into contact with the salvia of the infected animal.

Toxoplasmosis

Humans contract this disease when coming into contact with cat faeces.

Escherichia Coli

This is a bacterium that causes a serious illness and people usually get the disease by eating contaminated meat, but when humans come into contact with manure they can also pick up the infection.

Foot and mouth disease

This can be found in: cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, some wild animals.