So here’s a question – can we come up with an alternative plan to have herds effectively tested for bovine tuberculosis (bTB) without involving so many vets?
With private veterinary practices coming under more and more resource pressure, surely it’s time that we had a full and frank debate on how best to test for this absolute scourge of a disease in Ireland?
In the UK, approved tuberculin testers (ATTs) have been used to carry out on-farm bTB testing for the past decade and more. And this approach seems to be working well.
ATTs are para-veterinary professionals with the authority to carry out statutory bTB skin testing of cattle.
They were first introduced, as part of a pilot study, back in 2005. A public consultation followed and, as a consequence, ATTs are now widely employed by veterinary practices throughout England and Wales.
Significantly, the final responsibility for the interpretation of their test results remains with a qualified veterinary surgeon.
bTB in Ireland
So, should a similar approach to bTB testing be taken in Ireland? To me it’s an option that could deliver lots of advantages. In the first instance, it should speed up the entire bTB testing process.
Moreover, it would create additional career opportunities for people wishing to develop a career in the animal health sector.
However, a number of fundamental questions would have to be addressed in an Irish context.
The first of these relates to the overall cost incurred by the state – and the livestock industry – in committing to the current bTB testing programmes. So, would the introduction of ATTs help to reduce these costs? I am not sure.
And then there is the not insignificant issue of determining how consistent the results obtained using an ATT-based bTB testing approach would be.
The results from England and Wales over the past 18 years would indicate that professionally trained ATTs are more than proficient at their jobs.
But as we progress through the third decade of the 21st century, I feel there is an even more fundamental question to be asked: Why are we still reliant on a skin test to determine an animal’s bTB status?
Surely it’s long overdue that research scientists came up with a simple blood test option.
This question has been doing the rounds for years. And to be honest, veterinary researchers are running out of road on this issue.
Look at it this way, specifically targeted research programmes delivered an effective test and vaccine for Covid-19 within months of the pandemic breaking out.
The reality is that scientists can come up with the answers required of them when they really put their minds to it.