Dáil Éireann Debate, Monday - 9 September 2024
1289. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he is concerned about the incidences of TB being detected through on-farm tests, but not showing up in post-mortem tests in factories; and if records are kept in relation to these instances; whether such records can be provided for the years 2014 to 2023. [35528/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraWhen cattle are slaughtered as reactors under the TB eradication programme, it is because they have tested positive for infection with TB. It is not routine to culture all TB reactors.
Visual inspection of reactor carcases at post-mortem finds that, on average, in the years from 2014 to 2023 a range of 28-39% of such reactors had visible lesions of tuberculosis, meaning the infection has progressed to a stage where the disease process has caused such significant tissue damage that it can be seen with the naked eye. Lesion % rate 2014 – 2023.
|
Year |
Lesions % |
|
2023 |
28% |
|
2022 |
36% |
|
2021 |
31% |
|
2020 |
37% |
|
2019 |
37% |
|
2018 |
31% |
|
2017 |
33% |
|
2016 |
34% |
|
2015 |
38% |
|
2014 |
39% |
If a reactor does not have visible disease lesions, it does not mean it is not infected; visual inspection cannot detect the presence of microscopic lesions and bacteria within the tissues of such animals.
Separately from the slaughter of TB reactors, all non-TB reactor cattle routinely slaughtered in Ireland are subjected to a post-mortem veterinary inspection which includes surveillance for lesions suspected to be caused by TB. In 2023, 5,265 suspect lesions were identified and of these, 51% are subsequently found by laboratory testing (combination of histological examination and/or culture) to have been caused by TB. The herds from which those animals came are then subjected to follow-up testing to identify any other undetected infected cattle.
My Department has produced leaflets and videos to explain how the tests work and what to expect from them and are available on www.bovinetb.ie.
