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There has been a notable reduction in the number of reactors in TB blackspot areas in the first half of the year.
Nationally, the number of reactors has fallen by almost 10% in comparison to the first six months of 2018. From January until the end of June, there were 7,089 reactors. This was down from 7,703 last year.
Monaghan had 599 reactors, the highest of any county, but significantly there was a 33% (295) reduction on the number of reactors detected there 12 months ago.
Along with Monaghan, north Cork and north Tipperary have been earmarked as particular areas of concern. There were 558 reactors in north Cork and 531 reactors in north Tipperary, but in comparison to 12 months ago the number of reactors in both has fallen by 15%.
Overall, 20 out of 29 regional veterinary offices have seen a fall in reactor numbers.
While the number of TB infected animals has fallen, the number of herds affected by TB has risen marginally by 0.22% to 3.1%.
There are 2,008 herds currently restricted by TB, 155 farms more than the same time last year.
Highest
Wicklow continues to have the highest incidence of TB at 8.5% but the cattle population is much lower in comparison to Monaghan and north Tipperary.
Mayo has the lowest incidence of any county with just 1.28% of herds affected.
To date in 2019, 52% of herds have been tested. Across the country, 98.4% of herds currently have TB-free status.
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