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Some 2.64% of cattle herds in Ireland have TB, a marginal increase on the same period in 2018 from 2.59%, the latest herd incidence figures for the first quarter of 2019 show.
By the end of March, 27,081 of Irish cattle herds were tested at least once for TB and the number of herds restricted was 1,741. Meanwhile, the number of TB reactors has reduced by over 400 (12.4%) from 3,269 to 2,863. In the first quarter, Tipperary north had the highest number of reactors at 313, followed by Monaghan with 304.
“The ongoing reduction of overall bovine herd numbers in Ireland is indicative of the challenge facing TB control as a greater proportion of our national cattle herd is now in herds whose size is ever increasing. Larger herd size is a known risk for TB,” the Department of Agriculture said in its latest TB update.
It said the problematic areas for TB in the country are north and east Cork, north Tipperary, mid Clare, Monaghan and parts of Cavan and Meath.
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