The latest results released by DAERA show that 1,344 cattle were removed as positives at a TB test in July, the highest monthly total so far in 2022.

The rate of TB infection continues to go in the wrong direction, with annual herd incidence (the number of new reactor herds as a proportion of herds that tested) standing at 9.09% in July, up from the June figure of 9.04%.

Over the first seven months of 2022, a total of 7,913 cattle have been culled out of herds as a result of a positive test, up 7.7% on the same period in 2021.

It is the highest seven-month total since 2018.

Since the start of 2022 a total of 1,706 herds have recorded at least one reactor at a test, with 1,118 of these being new herd breakdowns.

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