asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the number of cattle herds where (a) bovine TB and (b) brucellosis were detected in 1988 and in 1989 to date; and the way in which these figures compare with previous years.
Written Answers. - Bovine TB and Brucellosis.
48.
I have been informed by the director of ERAD that there were 10,596 herd restrictions due to bovine TB and 380 herd restrictions due to brucellosis in 1988. In the course of 1989 to date there have been 10,653 herd restrictions for TB and 351 for brucellosis.
At present there are 8,388 herds restricted with TB and 240 herds with brucellosis of which 14 are considered to harbour active infection.
The TB figures represent an increase over the corresponding figures for recent years while the figures for brucellosis are indicative of a continuing reduction in national levels of brucellosis infection.
Direct comparisons cannot be reasonably undertaken with earlier periods due to differences in the intensity and duration of respective testing programmes and the strategies currently in place. The increased herd restrictions under the TB eradication scheme are in fact, in line with the levels predicted under the ERAD eradication strategy.