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Bovine Tuberculosis

Volume 404: debated on Tuesday 15 April 2003

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To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what efforts her Department is making to test cattle for bovine TB in those areas which have been restocked following the end of the foot and mouth disease outbreak in 2001. [108747]

Newly formed cattle herds and premises restocked after a herd slaughter require, as a rule, one whole-herd TB test three to six months after restocking. To manage the increased risk of introducing TB through movements of infected cattle into re-formed herds, DEFRA has instigated a programme of frequent testing of premises restocked after the foot and mouth outbreak. In addition to the usual check test carried three to six months post-restocking, those premises now require two further check tests at 12-month intervals before reverting to the normal testing interval for their parish.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what livestock movement restrictions apply to farms where (a) there has been a recent bovine TB reactor and (b) the farm is overdue for a bovine TB test. [108748]

Cattle which react to the TB test are removed for slaughter, and the herd is placed under movement restrictions until all the eligible cattle have cleared two further short interval tests (60 days).Movements of cattle to and from herds with unknown disease status constitute a disease risk. Historically, herds with overdue TB tests have not automatically been put under movement restrictions. After the TB testing programme was suspended during the foot and mouth outbreak in 2001, there was a backlog of 27,000 overdue tests at the end of December 2001. On 31 January 2002, after veterinary risk assessment, herds considered most at risk of infection were put under movement restrictions. On 1 February 2003, as part of the 'autumn package' of measures for the control of bovine TB, herds with tests overdue by more than 12 months were put under movement restriction. From 1 April 2003, herds with tests overdue by more than six months were also placed under movement restriction. Herds with a TB test overdue by three months or more will be put under movement restriction from 30 September 2003.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her Department's latest estimate is of the number of (a) late bovine TB reactor tests and (b) bovine TB reactor cattle which were not collected within the Department's target collection time in each of the last 12 months for which records are available. [108761]

The information requested is given in the tables.

Table (a) number of overdue TB tests for GB March 2002-February 2003
Total number of TB herd tests overdue1
March 200225,285
April 200222,546
May 200220,030
June 200218,037
July 200216,960
August 200215,576
September 200214,921
October 200212,177
November 20029,852
December 20026,283
January 20036,720
February 20036,139
1 Provisional data. Subject to change as information is added to the VETNET system.
Table (b) the number and percentage of TB reactors not collected from farms in England and Wales within 10 working days of disclosure: January-December 20021
TB reactors not collected within 10 working days of disclosure
NumberPercentage
January 200275960
February 20021,19176
March 20021,20176
April 20021,38776
May 20021,41379
June 200289369
July 20021,43574
August 200295976
September 20021,29976
October 20021,27574
November 20021,27768
December 20021,30377
1 TB reactor removal data for 2003 incomplete.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what animal welfare standards have been set by (a) her Department and (b) Professor John Bourne's scientific committee overseeing the Krebs field trials on bovine TB. [108762]

In designing and conducting the randomised badger culling trial (the "Krebs" trial), MAFF (now DEFRA) and the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB have given a high priority to animal welfare issues. Snares and gassing are not used in the trial. Badgers are caught in cage traps, and shot at close range by personnel trained in the safe and humane use of firearms, specifically in relation to badgers. Traps are set as late as possible in the day, and checked as early as possible next morning, to minimise the time badgers spend in traps. Trial procedures require that trapping be suspended if, due to bad weather, there is a risk that cage traps could be flooded or that trapped badgers would suffer from extreme exposure. Both temperature and wind chill must be taken into account. Seven day weather forecasts are used in the planning of trapping operations. Badgers are not culled between 1 February and 30 April (the closed season) each year to minimise the risk of capturing lactating sows with dependent cubs below ground.The humaneness of despatch procedures has been subject to independent audit which found trial procedures to be humane. The audit report is published on DEFRA's website at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/tb/publications/auditor/report.shtml

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans her Department has to alter the regularity of on farm bovine TB tests. [108763]

Officials are drawing up a range of policy options for possible introduction later this year. Among the measures to be considered are a review of test frequencies to ensure compliance with EU regulations, and a review to identify whether test frequencies above the EU requirements are needed in certain areas.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress her Department has made in identifying a vaccine to assist in the control of bovine tuberculosis. [108768]

Defra is funding research at the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA), Weybridge to produce candidate vaccines and to evaluate these in host species. The candidates include a range of live attenuated vaccines and sub-unit vaccines. Defra is also funding experimental vaccination of cattle with BCG and other vaccine candidates, development of a test to differentiate vaccinated animals from infected animals, and development and testing of vaccines against TB in badgers, in collaboration with University College, Dublin.The sequencing of the genome of Mycobacterium bovis (announced by Defra in March 2002) represents significant progress in vaccine research, as all genes, proteins, enzymes and antigens present in M. bovis are likely to be identified rapidly in a highly cost-effective manner. This will underpin all future Defra bovine TB research in the development of vaccines and improved diagnostic tests. Defra is funding research at the VLA in this area.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions her Department has had with (a) scientists undertaking research and development and (b) pharmaceutical companies regarding the timetable for developing a vaccine for the control of bovine TB within the last 12 months. [108769]

Over the past 12 months Defra has maintained close links with its vaccine research contractors through regular contact by officials and via the independent TB Vaccine Programme Advisor, the late Dr. Jo Colston.The Vaccine Scoping Study Sub-Committee (VSSSC) of the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB (ISG) includes both

(a) research scientists and (b) representation from the pharmaceutical industry. The Sub-Committee has met seven times over the last year and members have had discussions with researchers from Ireland and New Zealand about TB vaccination research being carried out in their countries. The VSSSC is expected to report to Ministers in late spring 2003 on the feasibility of pursuing a vaccination strategy for cattle and wildlife.

The Chief Veterinary Officer's Vaccine Steering Group, set up to identify the administrative and legal processes required to enable a vaccine to be used with minimum delay, met twice in 2002. It will meet again in early summer to consider the VSSSC report.

The ISG has cautioned that a TB vaccine is a potential policy option only in the longer term.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate her Department has made of the (a) earliest possible and (b) optimum time for the practical introduction of a vaccine to control the spread of bovine TB. [108770]

The Independent Scientific Group on Cattle (ISO) set up a Vaccine Scoping Study Sub-Committee in January 2002 to assist in advising DEFRA Ministers on the feasibility of pursuing TB vaccination in either cattle or wildlife. Seven meetings of the Sub-Committee have taken place and its report to Ministers is expected soon.The Chief Veterinary Officer initiated an Interdepartmental Committee in May 2000 to consider in advance the administrative and legal approval processes that would be necessary to allow a vaccine to be put into use with a minimum of delay, presuming that the research projects are successful and a suitable vaccine becomes available. The Committee met twice in 2002 and will meet again in the late spring/early summer to consider the ISG Scoping Study Report.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate her Department has made of how many doses of vaccine would be required in each of the first years of a bovine TB control strategy once clinically viable vaccines become available. [109315]

Defra's extensive bovine TB vaccine research programme is aimed at identifying the most effective vaccine candidates and the most appropriate vaccination programmes to reduce the incidence of bovine TB. Decending on the outcome of this research, it will be necessary to gain approval for the selected vaccine or vaccines to be used in cattle or badgers or other susceptible species.At this stage the quantity of vaccine required, or the species it will be most effective to vaccinate, is not known.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what efforts her Department is making to prevent the spread of bovine TB through cattle movement (a) in foot and mouth affected areas which have been restocked since 2001 and (b) other areas. [108746]

Newly formed cattle herds and premises restocked after a herd slaughter require, as a rule, one whole-herd TB test three to six months after restocking. To manage the increased risk of introducing TB through movements of infected cattle into re-formed herds, Defra has instigated a programme of frequent testing of premises restocked after the foot and mouth outbreak. In addition to the usual check test carried out three to six months post-restocking, those premises now require two further check tests at 12-month intervals before reverting to the normal testing interval for their parish.Movements of cattle to and from herds with unknown disease status constitute a disease risk. Historically, herds with overdue TB tests have not automatically been put under movement restrictions. After the TB testing programme was suspended during the foot and mouth outbreak in 2001, there was a backlog of 27,000 overdue tests at the end of December 2001. On 31 January 2002, after veterinary risk assessment, herds considered most at risk of infection were put under movement restrictions. On 1 February 2003, as part of the 'autumn package' of measures for the control of bovine TB, herds with tests overdue by more than 12 months were put under movement restriction. From 1 April 2003, herds with tests overdue by more than six months were also placed under movement restriction. Herds with a TB test overdue by three months or more will be put under movement restriction from 30 September 2003.