Over 17,000 herds of cattle in the Shannonside Region were tested for Bovine TB in the first 9 months of this year according to figures from the CSO.
Bovine TB is a serious condition that can cause illness in both animals and humans, and when detected results in the affected herds being restricted and animals removed. 17,312 cattle herds were tested between January and September of this year in Longford, Leitrim and Roscommon, up 700 from the same period last year. These tests recorded a regional average incidence rate of 3.3% across the three counties, up from 2.5% last year. Longford has seen the highest Bovine TB rate locally in the last 9 months and the biggest increase year on year with 3,736 herds tested and a 5% positively rate. Just 2.3% of herds showed reactors last year in the county after 3,567 herds were examined. Roscommon also saw an increase in incidence rates, with testing showing that there was a 2.86% rate of positivity among the 8,766 herds tested.
Leitrim saw the only decrease in reactors despite an increase in tests, with 4,790 herds tested leading to an incidence rate of 2.11%.
The national Bovine TB incidence rate stands at 3.38 percent for quarters one, two and three.
