Too good to be true? On 29/3/10 Farmers Weekly Interactive reported that s feeding mushrooms to cattle could control the spread of bTB. Apparently, following 18 months of research, RPF Bioscience claims that compounds found in mushrooms could strengthen the immune systems of cattle, thereby helping stop the spread of bTB between cattle. Joy Edwards, the firm's head of science at RPF, said there was sufficient evidence to warrant testing of a fortified mushroom compound which could be delivered to cattle once a year as a bolus. She says, "We have been researching the issue of bTB for more than 18 months and have unearthed anecdotal and published evidence to suggest various strains of TB have been treated successfully with mushrooms for many years," she said. After a decade of research into the effect of mushroom compounds on humans, the company has identified "incredible antibacterial properties" associated with the fungi, she added. So ... it is early days and it should be noted that there is considerable financial gain to be made by those involved. The product will not be cheap and there must be proper scientific evidence to back up the claims, before it is sold as a cure for bTB .
Keith (Guest)
4 Apr 2010, 6:29 PM
Despite many government publications advising that bovine TB is not curable, it apparently is. It can be treated with antibiotics, but such treatment takes many months and so is very expensive. However, the renowned herbalist Juliette de Bairacli Levy, in her 'The Complete Herbal Handbook for Farm and Stable' (1988) says 'the accepted best prevention of tuberculosis is the open-air life, sunlight and well-ventilated cattle sheds, comparable with the requirements for tuberculosis prevention in the human species'. She lists garlic, oil of eucalyptus and powdered Iceland moss as long-proven, powerful herbal remedies for the disease.
Sally (Guest)
3 Apr 2010, 7:46 PM
And here is another one, but this time for badgers, as reported at www.bbc.co.uk/gloucestershire/content/articles/2007/10/16/badger_culling_conundrum_feature.shtml (3/4/10)
Dick Roper is an organic farmer in the Cotswolds which is in a TB hotspot. He has pioneered a nutritional approach that has kept badgers and cattle free from TB, despite being surrounded by infected farms and he wonders if his approach could be a solution to the problem. His theory is that one of the reasons badgers catch bovine TB is their poor immunity due to a lack of vital minerals. Six years ago, he decided to experiment. He said: "I decided to feed my badgers a general purpose molassed mineral block, knowing badgers are little piggies and like sweet stuff. "I put a very high level of selenium in there, the highest level you are allowed. They could just help themselves to it." According to Dick, so far the experiment appears to be working. In the last six years, his farm has been free of bovine TB. However he complains that the authorities are ignoring this 'cure'. and he is becoming increasingly frustrated because he feels his discovery is not being treated seriously. He wants DEFRA to compare the blood profiles of badgers from clean and TB affected areas to see whether his mineral deficiency theory is correct. He says: "It is absolutely ludicrous. This year we are spending £80m on this and nobody can tell me what the correct blood profile of a badger should be. That to me is totally barking. I cannot understand it."
