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Bovine TB Eradication Group for England

Highlights of the eleventh meeting, 6 May 2009

The Group discussed the current work being done on descriptive epidemiology.  The overall aim of the work is to provide a picture of bovine TB over time and space.  This will be useful to draw on and record field experience; maintain a subjective ‘feel’ for the disease; get a sense of the smaller individual clusters of bovine TB with their own characteristics; and to acquire information on which to base hypotheses for future analysis and interventions.

The ‘Descriptive Epidemiology’ Project commissioned by Defra from the Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics Research Unit (VEERU), Reading, was designed to compile a comprehensive descriptive history of bovine TB in England since 1980.  This involved structured interviews with staff in Animal Health Divisional Offices; retired VOs; private vets; farmers; and an online questionnaire. 

Members concluded that the descriptive epidemiology work gave a helpful qualitative picture, allowing for the risks of subjectivity, and a useful view of the bovine TB disease pattern over time that could be compared to the statistics and other data.  The Group asked for further work to be done to identify key issues from the information that had been gathered which should be investigated further.  Members also emphasised that each component of the work should be made publicly available as soon as it was in a suitable form.

The Group also considered a proposal for taking forward work on visualising cattle movements through origin-destination mapping. While this was in its early stages, Members agreed it had potential and should be pursued further.

Two Members of the Eradication Group had met with the Bovine Tuberculosis Subgroup of the EU Commission’s Task Force on Monitoring Animal Disease Eradication alongside stakeholders from other UK Administrations.  They had briefed the Sub-Group on the work of the Eradication Group and the disease situation from a farming and veterinary perspective.  The Group looked forward to feedback on the Sub-Group’s findings to inform and guide its  development of  the England component of the GB EU Eradication Plan. 

The Group continued to work on developing the long-term eradication programme for England.  Members discussed initial mapping work of the four broad areas they had defined in December.

They considered how the policies they had identified could be prioritised for each  area; and the likely impact on disease in those areas; with a view to making recommendations to Ministers as the Group’s work progressed.


Page last modified: 15 May 2009