Scientists have found bovine TB in a feral wild boar for the first time in the UK. The discovery may raise fears among farmers that boars, along with badgers, could be contributing to bovine TB in cattle – but the researchers say the porcine species poses a low risk of spreading the disease to livestock or humans.

Tests on a 60kg female boar believed to be 7-9 months old revealed tissue lesions consistent with the disease.

The wild boar joins the growing list of wildlife hosts for TB. The threat from badgers is now judged so great that the new coalition government is preparing for England to follow Wales in culling the animals, despite conflicting scientific advice on whether the measure would be effective.

The boar died while under anaesthesia as part of an ongoing study of the animals in Herefordshire, an area where there is a high prevalence of TB on farms.

The study is being conducted for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) by the Food and Environment Research Agency.

Boar in the wild probably became extinct in England about 300 years ago but a series of escapes and deliberate releases from farms since the 1980s have meant small feral populations have become re-established.

A letter in today's Veterinary Record says any potential role wild boar may have in spreading bovine TB in the UK remains unclear, although the disease has been found in farmed wild boar twice.

In parts of Spain and Portugal the disease in boar is already at a level that is self-sustaining but in Italy they are "spillover" hosts.

The government already encourages landowners to increase routine culling of wild deer when there are high levels of TB and confirmation of the disease in cats, dogs, pigs and camelids, although still very low, appears to be increasing.

Fewer than 1% of human TB cases are thought to be linked to bovine TB infections.

Defra said last night: "'This finding does not change our risk assessment of the roles of other wildlife at present and we continue to monitor confirmed cases of TB in all animals, including wildlife, as part of our ongoing TB surveillance."

The spokesman added: "The main risk of human M. bovis [bovine TB] infection arising from wild boar is probably occupational, for those handling live infected animals or their carcasses in the field.

"We continue to advise basic personal hygiene practices, including wearing protective equipment to prevent cuts in the skin and to prevent exposure to infectious aerosols."