NI: Vaccine hopes for bovine TB rise, highest rate in 20 years

The announcement comes at a time when Northern Ireland (NI) has seen more herds going down with TB and the number of reactor animals at a test rising. The bovine TB herd incidence has crept above 10% for the first time in 20 years, according to statistics released by the Department of Agriculture Environment and Rural Affairs for November.

High rates and vaccine assessment and trials

Herd breakdowns as a proportion of new herds tested rose from 9.95% to 10.14% compared with October. In the 11 months to November, a total of 15,583 cattle have been removed at test.

Meanwhile, the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) said the second phase of the field trials will assess the safety of the cattle BCG vaccine and the safety and performance of the DIVA skins test in vaccinated cattle. So far, laboratory studies have indicated that the vaccine and DIVA skin test are safe and that the test performs well under controlled APHA conditions.

The field trials are taking place on commercial livestock farms across the country and are due to be completed later this year. This phase will involve at least 5 farms with 600 animals participating, 300 of which will be vaccinated with cattle BCG while the remaining half will receive a placebo.

Dr Phil Hogarth, lead scientist for TB at APHA, said the next step represented a significant milestone: “It builds upon many years of research and APHA will continue to be led by science and work tirelessly in the fight to eradicate this disease.”

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Bovine TB a difficult animal disease

In a joint statement the chief veterinary officers from England, Scotland and Wales said: “Bovine TB represents one of the most difficult animal disease challenges the world faces today. We are making substantial progress in developing an additional tool to help eradicate this disease with the new cattle vaccine and DIVA skin test and are very grateful to the vets and farmers taking part for their efforts in making this work on the ground.”

If this second phase is successful, it is hoped that both will be deployable in the next few years, adding significant tools to those currently available. APHA will use information from the trials to support applications for marketing authorisations and international recognition, which will help save thousands of cattle every year that would have been culled to prevent the spread of the disease.

The news has been welcomed by British Veterinary Association (BVA) president Malcolm Morley, who described the next step as an important milestone in the ongoing collaborative efforts of the veterinary profession, scientific community, government and industry to tackle this disease.

“BVA identified the development of a vaccine and test as a research priority that could have a significant impact on bovine TB eradication in the UK and globally, alongside other disease control measures. We look forward to seeing the results of the trials.”

Bovine TB is seen as one of the most difficult and intractable animal health challenges that the UK currently faces, costing the taxpayer £100 million (€112 million) every year. Over 38,000 cattle in England and Wales were slaughtered in 2021 to tackle the disease.