Agriculture minister’s plan for Irish M bovis study
The Department of Agriculture is planning to undertake a study to establish the prevalence of Mycoplasma bovis infection in the national cattle herd, revealed Agriculture Minister Michael Creed in the Dáil last week.
This bacterial disease, which can cause untreatable mastitis, abortion and arthritis in cows, is at the centre of a phased eradication campaign in New Zealand, costing €500m, in which the Government will cull about 150,000 cattle in an attempt to rid the country of the disease.
Already, about 25,000 cattle have been culled in New Zealand.
Responding to a Dáil question from Pat Deering, Fine Gael TD for Carlow-Kilkenny, Mr Creed said, “Mycoplasma bovis infection is most commonly associated with respiratory disease and arthritis in juvenile cattle and feedlot beef cattle, and with mastitis in dairy cows.
“My Department’s veterinary laboratories have been involved in investigating a number of disease incidents in recent years, in which adult dairy cows have developed arthritis, and this has been attributed to M bovis infection.
The laboratories will continue to work closely with herd-owners, and attending veterinary practitioners, in investigating affected herds, to try and gain a better understanding of this disease process, and to advise the farming community and veterinary practitioners, accordingly.
Mycoplasma bovis disease diagnoses in Irish cattle have steadily risen, from two in 2010 to 62 in 2016.
Since 2010, post-mortem examinations by the Department of Agriculture’s veterinary laboratory service have detected the disease in most counties.
Mycoplasma bovis has no implications for public health, food safety or international trade.
Infection in cattle is generally amenable to treatment and control when outbreaks occur, with appropriate professional and laboratory supports.
This infectious disease is not regulated in Ireland or the EU.
