Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat has been hit with bovine TB after one of his cows tested positive for the highly infectious disease – but what is the condition and can humans get it too? Let’s find out
Jeremy Clarkson shockingly revealed his farm has “gone down” with bovine TB, leaving him “absolutely devastated” – but what actually is the disease and can humans be infected too?
The TV presenter and farmer, 65, announced via social media that his cattle on Diddly Squat have tested positive for the bovine condition, meaning any infected will have to be sent straight to slaughter.
Clarkson, star of his own Amazon Prime show, candidly admitted that the last 24 hours have been “awful” since one of his cows became “very sickly” on the farm in Chipping Norton, West Oxfordshire.
On Thursday evening (July 31), he wrote on X: “Bad news from Diddly Squat. We’ve gone down with TB. Everyone here is absolutely devastated.”
He further shared on Times Radio this morning (August 1) that the farm is now “locked down” and Diddly Squat will have to be closed for “two months”, although the shop can stay open.
He later clarified on social media that despite his Times Radio comments, “the farm is NOT shut. We just can’t buy or sell any cows”.
But, why does a case of TB require such extreme measures? Here, we take a look at the fatal disease that has threatened the farm and whether it can spread to humans.
What is TB?
According to the NHS, TB (Tuberculosis) “is an infection that usually affects the lungs.” The bacterial condition can also affect other parts of the body and can prove fatal if not treated.
However, if caught in time, a lengthy course of antibiotics can treat the respiratory disease that has seen the “largest year-on-year increase” since the current reporting period of 2000-2023.
The UK Government recorded that cases in England have increased by 11% in 2023 in comparison to 2022, with 4,855 people testing positive for the disease in the latest published figures.
Sometimes people can be asymptomatic to the disease, meaning that you could have TB in your body but you would not realise it. This would be classed as ‘latent TB’, cases with symptoms are classed as ‘active TB’.
The bacteria ‘Mycobacterium tuberculosis’ causes the respiratory disease, which is passed from human-to-human when a person with active TB in their lungs releases droplets of the infection – either from coughing, sneezing or even talking.
This is then inhaled and infects the next person, with these droplets able to stay in the air for hours.
Symptoms include:
- a cough that lasts more than three weeks
- high temperature
- drenching night sweats
- loss of appetite
- weight loss
If TB is left untreated and spreads to another part of your body, including your glands and brain, then the symptoms can become more severe. These include coughing up blood, vomiting, pelvic pain and constipation.
What is bovine TB?
However, Clarkson’s farm has fortunately not been hit with TB – meaning it’s not a human-strain outbreak.
Clarkson confirmed on his socials that Diddly Squat has tested positive for bovine TB – so what’s the difference and can this be spread to humans?
Well, first off, the bacteria are slightly different from those in humans. ‘Mycobacterium Bovis’ causes Bovine TB, which is mainly a respiratory-presenting disease.
The condition is spread by droplets released via coughing or sneezing from infected animals, inhaled by surrounding cattle or other mammals – like goats, sheep and dogs.
It is said to be difficult to spot whether a cow has TB as symptoms can mimic a range of other illnesses, and they only usually display in later stages of the disease.
To offset this, and the spread, those who own cattle have to abide by a compulsory cattle testing programme, which was the process that alerted Clarkson to an infection on his farm.
The disease is often spread into “new herds through the movement of infected cattle that have not been detected,” states the UK Government website.
Cattle can also commonly be infected by the likes of badgers. While sneezing and coughing are the main instigators of infection, animals can also be infected by calves suckling on the diseased or contact with contaminated equipment, poo, feed or pasture.
Symptoms in cows include:
- cows that continually lose weight
- a light fever that continues to return
- weakness
- reduced appetite
- swollen lymph nodes
- moist cough that gets worse in the morning, during cold weather or exercise
- chronic mastitis (udder infection that is not helped by antibiotics)
Cows who have been infected with bovine TB must, unfortunately, be slaughtered to stop the spread.
Can bovine TB spread to humans?
In short, yes – bovine TB can be passed to all mammals (including us).
Bovine TB can be passed to humans, although the infection rate is “very low for the vast majority of the population”, according to the UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs.
The government department states that humans can be infected by bovine TB from the following:
- consuming unpasteurised milk or dairy products from an infected cow, buffalo, goat or sheep
- inhaling bacteria from infected animals
- inhaling bacteria released from the carcasses of infected animals or from their poo
Humans infected with bovine TB will experience similar symptoms to human TB – these vary from fever, weight loss and a continual cough.
If you’re suspected to have bovine TB, then you should consult a doctor who will provide you specific treatment in order to battle the infectious disease.
What is going on at Diddly Squat Farm?
Clarkson shared that the cow who tested positive is “pregnant with twins”, making the inevitable culling even more heartbreaking.
His Oxfordshire farm is located on an “edge area” for TB, which means that it is a buffer zone between ‘high risk’ and ‘low risk’ infection areas.
The West of England and Wales are more susceptible to outbreaks of bovine TB due to the population of badgers, who are common carriers and infectors of bovine TB.
This means that cattle herds undergo compulsory six-monthly TB tests – and Clarkson got the unexpected bad news that his recent test failed.
Speaking to Times Radio Breakfast today (August 1): “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.” He has also admitted to a devastating loss as one of his puppies has died.
He added: “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.”
His Diddly Squat farm shop is still open to punters, but the rest of the farm is on lockdown.
He added: “[The farm will be closed for] Certainly two months because that’s how long we have to wait before we do another test.
“The farm shop’s unaffected – it’s only cows that get affected by it.”
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
