A proposal for a national Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR) eradication programme has been presented at a meeting of the IBR Implementation Group, according to Animal Health Ireland’s (AHI’s) most recent newsletter.
The IBR Implementation Group, which includes representatives from the processing sectors, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), farm organisations, breed societies and Teagasc, met earlier this year.
At the meeting, a proposal for a national IBR eradication programme was presented. The proposal was developed by the IBR Technical Working Group.
According to Animal Health Ireland (AHI), available data suggests that around 80% of breeding herds in Ireland have some level of IBR infection.
The proposed programme envisages an initial reduction phase to decrease the number of herds in the country with the disease while recognising herds that meet requirements which deem them as being free from the disease.
During the initial phase, it is proposed to apply a test to determine the herd status, which would consist of a bulk tank milk test in dairy herds.
The DAFM is currently undertaking national bulk-tank milk surveillance which can provide cost-effective guidance to dairy herds on next steps, with use of targeted blood sampling in suckler herds providing similar information.
This phase would be followed by an eradication phase, with ongoing review and refinement of the programme. Vaccination, biosecurity and testing are key elements of the proposed programme, according to AHI.
Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) is a highly infectious viral disease in cattle caused by bovine herpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1).
The Implementation Group raised a number of questions based on the presentations, and these are currently being addressed by the Technical Working Group (TWG) in advance of convening a further meeting of the IBR Implementation Group.
The overall objective of this group will be to decide on the merits or otherwise of implementing a national IBR Programme.