asked the Minister for Agriculture if he will state, with reference to the issue of Brucella abortus strain 19 in calfhood vaccination as an immunising agent against contagious abortion (a) whether his Department has examined the report recently published of the large scale experiment carried out by the United States Department of Agriculture Bureau of Animal Industry and that Department's decision to adopt calfhood vaccination as an aid to furthering a policy of eradication; (b) the number and the nature of experiments carried out by his Department and the conclusions drawn by his veterinary experts; (c) what consideration has been given to the practical advantage of its large scale use here.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Treatment of Cattle Diseases.
The report referred to in the first part of the question has been examined by my Department. A series of experiments in calfhood and maiden heifer vaccination with strain 19 Brucella abortus vaccine is being conducted at the Department's veterinary research laboratory. Until this series of experiments has been completed, final conclusions cannot be drawn as to the results obtainable with the vaccine or the advantages to be derived from its use on a large scale in this country. It may, however, be stated that the results to date would not indicate that strain 19 vaccine is more efficacious than the vaccine already in use here.
asked the Minister for Agriculture if he is aware that vaccine Brucella abortus strain 19 cannot be procured, and if he will state whether further supplies will be imported in the near future, or whether it is intended to have the culture produced in the Department's veterinary laboratories.
A licence to import strain 19 vaccine has been granted to a firm of chemists in Dublin, which is, I understand, in a position to supply it to veterinary surgeons. This vaccine is being produced in limited quantity for experimental purposes at the Department's veterinary research laboratory and, if considered necessary, arrangements for its production on a large scale may be made in due course when equipment for the purpose can be procured. In the meantime, the vaccine which has been produced at the Department's research laboratory for many years past and the use of which has been attended with a considerable measure of success, is available in adequate quantities.