Vol. 527 No. 3
77 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the extent of the current problem in relation to bovine diseases, including tuberculosis, brucellosis and BSE; and the current measures to reduce current levels and eradicate disease from the national herd. [28403/00]
In so far as bovine tuberculosis is concerned, a total of 32,653 TB reactors have been disclosed for the period 1 January 2000 to 31 October 2000 compared with 36,565 for the same period in 1999. The APT, that is, the number of reactors per 1,000 tests, is currently at 3.9, down from 4.2 for the first ten months of 1999. Similarly the number of brucellosis reactors for the same period in 2000 is 3,294 compared with 4,253 for the same period in 1999. With regard to BSE, the number of cases reported for the period 1 January 2000 to 30 November 2000 is 126 compared with a figure of 75 for the same period last year.
The Programme for Prosperity and Fairness contains a number of measures with the objective of reducing current levels of, and ultimately eradicating, bovine TB from the national herd. Amongst the measures provided for is the allocation of specified staff resources in each district veterinary office, DVO, to carry out investigative work into the causes of herd breakdowns. In addition to current arrangements relating to wildlife, a pro-active approach will be taken in each DVO area, using 75 dedicated departmental and Farm Relief Service personnel, to the removal of all sources of infection, in the 20% of the country that yields some 50% of current TB reactors.
