Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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Question 68: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the progress being made in relation to new TB tests and the vaccination of badgers. [43639/09]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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In accordance with EU rules (Directive 64/432/EEC), the tuberculin skin test (Single Intradermal Comparative Tuberculin Test ) must be used by Member States for the purpose of testing herds for bovine TB. Due of the level of herd incidence of TB in Ireland, EU rules provide that herds must have one such test per annum, with follow-up testing in herds that have their status suspended/withdrawn.

With regard to new tests, I assume that the Deputy is referring to a blood test, known as the Enferplex assay, which is currently being researched by Enfer Scientific in conjunction with my Department. It is hoped that, when developed, the Enferplex could be another diagnostic assay for TB. Indeed, if the sensitivity and specificity of the assay match or surpass that of the skin test it could possibly, in time, function as a screening test to replace the skin test. However there are a number of milestones to be passed before this desired outcome can be achieved. The current phase of the project during 2009 involves DVOs taking blood samples for analysis from herds undergoing high risk or consequential test type tests (i.e. not round tests) and which represent the whole of Ireland. The results from tests conducted by the company on these samples will be compared with that of the skin test. Enfer Scientific and my Department have agreed to continue to perform the assay at least until the end of this year in order to gather sufficient data to determine the merits of the multiplex assay. Accordingly, the data from this current project will not be available for analysis until 2010. In view of the possibility that the data may indicate that refinement of the multiplex assay will be necessary, samples collected to date are being held as a sample bank to facilitate further assay development.

I should point out that there is no possibility that the Enfer test can entirely substitute for the annual tuberculin skin testing until such time as it becomes accepted under Directive 64/432/EEC. In this regard, it is noteworthy that Ireland commenced research into the use of the Interferon-gamma assay for TB in 1991 but it was only approved by the EU for use as an adjunct to the skin test in 2002 with the objective of facilitating the early removal of additional infected animals in problem herds.

With regard to the vaccination of badgers, while the TB eradication programme includes a badger removal strategy aimed at reducing the incidence of TB in wildlife and the opportunities for contact between cattle and wildlife, the long- term objective of my Department is to develop a vaccine for badgers and considerable research has already been conducted in collaboration with UCD on the development of such a vaccine. Research to date has demonstrated that oral vaccination of badgers in a captive environment with the BCG vaccine generates high levels of protective immunity against challenge with bovine TB. The work programme has now reached a stage where it is necessary to test the vaccine under conditions of natural transmission of infection. A three year field trial in Kilkenny, where vaccine will be delivered orally, by hand, to badgers has recently commenced to test the efficacy of the vaccine in a large number of badgers over a wide geographic area. Success in the field trial will lead to the eventual implementation of a vaccination strategy as part of the national control programme. However, it will be some years before the benefits of a vaccine can be seen (2013 at the earliest) and therefore targeted badger removal will continue in the medium term.