The number of cattle herds experiencing a new breakdown in bovine TB during October 2024 was the highest in two years, the latest disease figures published by DAERA shows.In total, there were 235 new TB breakdown herds in October, up from 179 herds in the previous month. As a result, annual TB herd incidence, which is a measure of the number of new reactor herds as a proportion of all those herds which have presented animals for testing, has increased from 10.21% to 10.41% in the last month.
The number of cattle herds experiencing a new breakdown in bovine TB during October 2024 was the highest in two years, the latest disease figures published by DAERA shows.
In total, there were 235 new TB breakdown herds in October, up from 179 herds in the previous month. As a result, annual TB herd incidence, which is a measure of the number of new reactor herds as a proportion of all those herds which have presented animals for testing, has increased from 10.21% to 10.41% in the last month.
Across the 10 months to the end of October, a total of 16,494 cattle have been removed off farms as reactors at TB tests, which is up 18% on the same period in 2023 and 21% ahead of the same period in 2022. Of the 10 divisional veterinary offices (DVOs) in NI, four of these (Newry, Enniskillen, Newtownards, Omagh) account for nearly 60% of these reactor animals.
These four DVO areas also have the highest animal incidence rates over the last 12 months, with Enniskillen in front, with an incidence rate of 1.82%.
In other words, for every 100 cattle tested in that area, 1.82 are reactors. The NI average over the last 12 months is 1.16%, compared to the previous 12-month period, when it was 0.97%.
The increase seen in individual animal incidence over the last year suggests that where TB occurs, it is involving a higher number of reactors per breakdown than before.
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