Diminishing returns in bovine tuberculosis control

Mycobacterium bovis causes bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in many mammals including cattle, deer and brushtail possum. The aim of this study was to estimate the strength of association, using model selection (AICc) regression analyses, between the proportion of cattle and farmed deer herds with bTB in New Zealand and annual costs of TB control, namely disease control in livestock, in wildlife or in a combination of the two. There was more support for curved (concave up) than linear models which related the proportion of cattle and farmed deer herds with bTB to the annual control costs. The curved, concave-up, best-fitting relationships showed diminishing returns with no positive asymptote and implied TB eradication is feasible in New Zealand.