Likewise, PCR-based detection of the mpb70 gene was positive in 47% of the soil samples collected in badger setts (tunnels) from 60 UK farms in six bovine tuberculosisendemic regions; furthermore, 16S rRNA detection was indicative of viable organisms (Courtenay et al., 2006). Refined real-time PCR detecting the DR4 region confirmed that all badger setts tested on a UK farm in 2006 were positive for M. bovis (Sweeney et al., 2007).