About 70% of bovine tuberculosis (TB) reactors derive from dairy herds, according to a senior superintending veterinary inspector with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Dr. Damien Barrett.
Dr. Barrett spoke at the recent Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and said that the remaining reactors would come from a combination of beef and suckler herds.
He said that there has been a “surge” as the demographics of the cattle herd moved more towards dairying.
As of October 27, 5,906 herds have suffered a TB breakdown in the last twelve months in comparison to 4,914 in the same period last year.
Data analysis suggests the reasons underpinning current levels of TB incidence are the expansion of the dairy herd and the resulting increased levels of intensive cattle farming and the increased movement of cattle.
While many eradication efforts are being made, Dr. Barrett said that the development of a vaccine would be “the single most effective intervention we could make”.
“There isn’t going to be a vaccine on the horizon in the short-term, but what is available in the short-term is breeding for resistance,” Dr. Barrett said.
TB reactors
Department principal officer, Conor O’Mahony said that the country has seen “a substantial increase” in the number of reactors with 39,339 being disclosed in the last twelve months in comparison to 26,581 in the previous twelve months, an increase of 12,758 or just 48%.
Almost 9.89 million tests were carried out at 27 October 2024 compared to around 9.66 million tests in the same period in 2023.
The overall cost to the exchequer of the TB Programme, excluding staff costs, has increased from full year costs of €57 million in 2023 to €74 million as of the end of October and is on track to increase further in 2025.
Sinn Féin spokesperson on agriculture and rural development, Martin Kenny raised the point of how international agreement would be needed if a vaccine were to be development, considering the export market.
Barrett responded by saying that he “wouldn’t underestimate the challenge” of receiving international agreement on a vaccine development.
“Our competitors would only be too glad to put a stick in the spokes of our bicycles,” Barret said.
It is a requirement of EU trade law to have an eradication programme. This enables Irish farmers to access the EU single market for our cattle (including calves), meat and milk.