Increase In Incidence Of TB In Cattle

There was an increase in the TB incidence rate for August 2010 compared with August 2009 but a high number of unclassified incidents may affect the interpretation of these provisional figures. A total of 390,812 tests were carried out on 4,613 herds resulting in the slaughter of 2,183 cattle. There were 2,107 reactors and 76 contacts, 283 of which were new herd incidents.

Fall In Cattle TB Incidence

There was a 5.4% decrease in the number of new TB incidences to July 2010 compared with July 2009. When the number is combined with the increase in the number of herd tests carried out over the same period there was a provisional overall decrease of 11%. The provisional confirmed incidence rate was down to 3.8% from 4.2% for the same period in 2009 at 240 new herd incidents (from 387).

The total number of tests carried out was 4,490. Tests on unrestricted herds totalled 3,171. The total number of cattle tested was 403,420 from 4,490 herds. The total number of cattle slaughtered in July was 2,507 of which 2,433 were reactors and 74 contacts.

Incidents Of TB Down In April

Provisional statistics from Defra's latest TB in Cattle release suggest an 8.2% decrease in the number of new TB incidents in April 2010 compared with the same period in 2009. The increase in the number of herds tested means a provisional overall decrease of 14% in the TB incidence rate. The average confirmed incidence rate for April 2010 was 3.7% and it was 4.1% for the same period last year.

The total number of herds tested in April was 7,927. A total of 3,947 herds are under movement restrictions. There were 6,441 tests on unrestricted herds of which 422 were new herd incidents. In terms of animals this equates to 724,646 total cattle tests. Cattle compulsorily slaughtered as a result of tests numbered 2,812 reactors (cattle that reacted to the tuberculin test) and 81 contacts (direct contact exposed to TB) giving a total of 2,893 animals.

Note Of Caution On Fall In TB Incidence

The provisional estimates of new TB incidence in cattle for March 2010 are 10% lower than they were in March 2009 according to Defra. The increase in the number of herds tested over the same period means that there was a provisional overall decrease in the TB incidence rate. There was also a fall in the provisional average confirmed incidence rate from 4% to 3.8% for the same period.

There were a total of 9,497 tests on herds. There were 3,909 restricted herds and tests on 8,083 unrestricted herds 515 of which were new herd indicents. The number of cattle tested for TB totalled 859,117 of which 3,027 reactors and 78 contacts had to be slaughtered totalling 3,105 cattle.

TB In Cattle Down At End Of 2009

Defra has released the estimeated TB in cattle statistics for December 2009 obtained from the Vetnet system. The key points are that the December estimate is below the incidence rate for December last year, the January provisional figures show a decrease of 8.8% in new incidents compared to last year and an increase in the number of herds tested giving an overall decrease of 14% in the TB incidence rate. The provisional average confirmed rate was down from 5% in 2008 to 4.3% for January to December 2009.

The total number of tests carried out in December was 485,671 cattle from 5,235 herds, 3,582 of which were on herds under movement restriction and 4,320 on unrestricted herds resulting in 280 new incidents and 168-196 new confirmed incidents. There was a 3.9-4.3% rate of tests carried out on unrestricted herds that resulted in a confirmed new herd incident. The total number of cattle compulsorily slaughtered in December 2009 was 1,914, 1,887 of which were reactors (confimed TB cases) and 27 contacts (cattle known to have been in contact with a reactor).