Why should you keep your herd TB free?
Tuberculosis is an infectious disease.
An outbreak of TB can have the following
consequences:
• Public health risk.
• Trading opportunities lost.
• Problems arising from restriction of herd.
• Economic loss – arising from loss of stock and
production.
• Inconvenience of extra herd testing.
Public Health Risk
• The organism that causes TB in cattle can also
infect humans.
Reduce the risk of human infection by:
• Never consuming unpasteurised milk or milk
products. It can carry infection.
• Washing and disinfecting your hands after
handling animals.
• Wearing a mask and protective clothing when
spreading slurry.
Isolation of Infection
If TB is identified in your herd, you must attempt
to prevent the further spread of the disease
within your herd by:
• Isolating all reactors and inconclusive reactors
immediately from the rest of the herd.*
• Withholding milk of reactors and inconclusive
reactors from the bulk tank and not feeding that milk
to calves.*
• Cleansing and disinfecting buildings with a power
wash and an approved disinfectant.* Keeping cattle
together in their existing groups until the infection is
resolved. It makes sound economic sense not to
expose clean cattle to infected ones.
(* = Legal Requirement)
Animal Waste Management
TB infected cattle may pass TB organisms in their
dung which can survive for 6 months or longer in
liquid slurry.
Reduce the risk of spreading disease by:
• Stacking and composting cattle manure for a
minimum of 1 month before spreading.
• Storing slurry for a minimum of 2 months but
preferably for 6 months.
• Spreading slurry on land used for tillage, silage or
hay but not while cattle are on adjacent fields.
• Ensuring the slurry spreading equipment is
cleansed and disinfected before and after use.
• Adding lime to slurry - especially if storage is not
possible. Lime will raise the pH and so kill the TB
organisms. Contact your local District Veterinary
Office (DVO) for particulars.
Keep cattle and infected wildlife apart by:
• Fencing off common watercourses, stagnant
ponds, badger setts and badger toilet areas.
• Raising drinking and feeding troughs to over 84
cm. (32 inches) in height and locating them away
from walls/ditches to prevent access.
• Not providing hand feeding to cattle where
badgers and/or deer can share it e.g. circular
feeders and/or meal troughs out on fields.
• Keeping feed storage areas, cattle sheds and yards
closed so that wildlife cannot gain entry.
• Checking fields regularly for badger carcasses
and especially before moving cattle onto new
pasture.
• Being aware of unusual sightings of badgers e.g.
in daytime. The badgers may be sick from TB –
contact your DVO.
Reduce slurry drift by:
• Directing slurry downwards towards the soil or
use direct injection techniques.
• Spreading in calm, damp or light rain conditions
to reduce aerosolisation.
• Never using tanker rain guns to spread slurry.
• Switching off vacuum pump immediately the
tanker empties to minimise mist production.
TB Outbreak
If TB is identified in your herd, you may be asked to
check your farm and inform your Veterinary
Inspector of the location of any badger setts on it in
order to enable the Department to investigate your
TB outbreak. Also report local badger casualties on
the roads and especially badgers found dead on your
land or in sheds on your land.
Remember it is prohibited by law to spread
contaminated slurry on a grazing area.
General Disease Preventive Measures
Protect your herd and those of your neighbours
by:
• Having adequate fencing so as to avoid nose-tonose contact between neighbours’ cattle and your
own and to avoid giving wild deer access to your
land.
• Providing drinking water for cattle from a clean
source.
• Not sharing equipment, cattle crushes, pens,
housing and farm roadways.
• Carrying out TB tests promptly and on every
bovine animal on your farm when requested. The
DVO will notify you when such tests are due.
• Ensuring a high level of nutrition for all animals.
• Practising good animal welfare.
Wildlife and TB
Badgers are the most commonly infected wildlife
species. Research has shown that a high percentage
of badgers in certain areas may be infected with
bovine tuberculosis. Infected badgers have been
found in every county in Ireland. As these badgers
share the same environment as domestic animals, it
is probable that disease will spread from one species
to another. Badgers are a protected species and it is
an offence to interfere with setts or hunt them. Deer
may be hunted under licence obtained from the
National Parks and Wildlife Service.
• Taking precautions against infected wildlife as
described in this leaflet.
• Disinfecting houses and transport vehicles regularly.
• Breeding your own replacement stock, or, if you
must introduce animals, obtaining animals with a
recent test and from known reputable sources. If
buying through a mart, you can ensure that animals,
and particularly potential breeding animals, are 30
day tested and/or have passed to export standard, by
examining the details on the electronic display board.
This will reduce the risk of introducing disease into
your herd.
GOOD HUSBANDRY MAKES GOOD SENSE!
Regional Veterinary Offices
County
Carlow
Office
Enniscorthy
Telephone
053 9259200
Cavan
Cavan
0761 064439
Clare
Limerick
061 500900
Cork North
D264-D415
Cork South
D101 – D263
Cork City
021 4851400
Clonakilty
023 8836200
Donegal
Raphoe
074 9173600
Dublin
Naas
045 873035
Galway
Galway
091 507600
Kerry
Tralee
066 7145052
Kildare
Naas
045 873035
Kilkenny
Laois
Waterford
Naas
051 312300
045 873035
Address
Vinegar Hill Lane,
Templeshannon,
Enniscorthy, Co
Wexford.
Government Offices,
Farnham Street,
Cavan.
Houston Hall,
Ballycumin Avenue,
Raheen Industrial
Estate, Raheen,
Limerick
Hibernian House, 80A
South Mall, Cork.
National Seafood
Centre, Clogheen,
Clonakilty, Co Cork
Meeting House Street,
Raphoe, Co. Donegal.
Poplar House, Poplar
Square, Naas, Co.
Kildare.
Áras an tSáile,
Lakeshore Drive,
Renmore, Galway.
Government Offices,
Spa Road, Tralee, Co.
Kerry.
Poplar House, Poplar
Square, Naas, Co.
Kildare.
The Glen, Waterford.
Poplar House, Poplar
Square, Naas, Co.
Leitrim
Drumshanbo
071 9682000
1890-253-101
Limerick
Limerick
061 500900
Longford
Drumshanbo
071 9682000
1890-253-101
Louth
Navan
046 9079030
1890-253-110
Mayo
Castlebar
Meath
Navan
094 9035300
1890-200-507
046 9079030
1890-253-110
Monaghan
Cavan
049 4368200
1890-200-508
Offaly
Tullamore
057 9370300
1890-253-237
Roscommon
Roscommon
090 6630100
Sligo
Drumshanbo
071 9682000
1890-253-101
Tipperary
Tipperary
062 34900
1890-253-127
Waterford
Westmeath
Waterford
Tullamore
051 312300
057 9346037
1890-253-237
Wexford
Enniscorthy
053 9259200
1890-200-507
Wicklow
West
Z201-Z220
Wicklow
East Z101Z148
Naas
045 873035
Enniscorthy
053 9259200
1890-200-507
Kildare.
Derryhallagh,
Drumshanbo, Co.
Leitrim.
Houston Hall,
Ballycumin Avenue,
Raheen Industrial
Estate, Raheen,
Limerick
Derryhallagh,
Drumshanbo, Co.
Leitrim.
Government Offices,
Athlumney, Kilcarn,
Navan, Co. Meath.
Michael Davitt House,
Castlebar, Co. Mayo.
Government Offices,
Athlumney, Kilcarn,
Navan, Co. Meath.
Government Offices,
Farnham Street,
Cavan.
Government Offices,
Clonminch, Tullamore,
Co. Offaly.
PRA Building, Golf
Links Road,
Roscommon.
Derryhallagh,
Drumshanbo, Co.
Leitrim.
Government Offices,
Davis Street,
Tipperary.
The Glen, Waterford.
Government Offices,
Clonminch, Tullamore,
Co. Offaly.
Vinegar Hill Lane,
Templeshannon,
Enniscorthy, Co
Wexford.
Poplar House, Poplar
Square, Naas, Co.
Kildare.
Vinegar Hill Lane,
Templeshannon,
Enniscorthy, Co
Wexford.
If you are unclear about any aspect of this advice, your
private veterinary practitioner or your regional veterinary
office will provide further information for you on request.
BOVINE TUBERCULOSIS
ADVICE FOR KEEPERS ON
HOW TO MINIMISE THE RISK
OF INFECTION
AND
WHAT TO DO WHEN TB IS
IDENTIFIED IN YOUR HERD.
www.agriculture.gov.ie
Issued by ERAD Division, Backweston and revised 2014