Island is free from brucellosis

The whole island of Ireland may now be regarded as being free from brucellosis, said Northern Ireland Agriculture Minister Michelle O’Neill last week, after the European Commission approved the north’s application for Official Brucellosis Free (OBF) status.

The last confirmed case of brucellosis in the north of Ireland was in late February, 2012.

Approval of the OBF application was given at the Commission’s Standing Committee for Plants, Animals, Food and Feed meeting on September 9, and it will become official when published in the Official Journal of the EU.