September 19, 2008

TB occurrences in UK cattle still rising 

Recent figures show that the incidences of Bovine Tuberculosis in the UK cattle is still on the rise.

According to the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs, the provisional figures for June this year are higher than they were in the June of last year and as such the incidence rates are subject to further revisions as more tests and their results are input.

Provisional statistics show a 19 percent increase in the number of new TB incidents in January-June 2008 compared to the same period in 2007. Combined with a decrease in the number of herds tested over the same period, this equates to a provisional overall increase in the TB incidence rate of 26 percent.

The provisional average confirmed new TB incidence rate was 4.9 percent for January-June 2008, compared to 3.5 percent for the same period in 2007.