A new Irish bovine tuberculosis (bTB) eradication strategy was launched in 2021. The strategy was formulated following extensive discussions with stakeholders, formal reviews of several aspects of the existing bTB policy and relevant inputs from the latest scientific research projects. A stakeholder discussion body, the TB Forum, had been established in 2018 and this continues under the new strategy, supported by three working groups (scientific, financial and implementation). The strategy sets out actions to address cattle-to-cattle and badger-to-cattle bTB transmission, along with actions to improve farm biosecurity and empower farmers to make their own choices to reduce bTB risk. Large scale vaccination of badgers has been rolled out under the new strategy, with over 20,000 km2 covered by the vaccination programme and 6,586 badgers captured in vaccination areas in 2021. Vaccination efforts have been complemented by intensive communications campaigns, including a web enabled software application (“app”) enabling farmers to report the location of badger setts. Cattle which test inconclusive to the tuberculin skin test have been re-tested using a gamma interferon blood test since April 2021, enabling truly infected cattle to be identified more effectively due to the higher sensitivity of this test. An enhanced oversight process has been put in place for herds experiencing extended or repeat bTB breakdowns. Whole genome sequencing is being used to investigate links between breakdowns, with the results supporting operational decision making in case management. Communications, including biosecurity advice, are co-designed with stakeholders, in order to improve their effectiveness. A programme involving veterinary practitioners providing tailored biosecurity bTB advice to their clients was established in 2021 and was rolled out nationally during 2022. A core element of the new strategy is the continual improvement of policies in response to changing bTB risks, informed by scientific research and then implemented with stakeholder consultation.

中文翻译：

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爱尔兰牛结核根除计划：结合利益相关者参与和研究驱动的政策来应对牛结核病

新的爱尔兰牛结核病 (bTB) 根除战略于 2021 年启动。该战略是在与利益相关者进行广泛讨论、对现有 bTB 政策的多个方面进行正式审查以及最新科学研究项目的相关投入后制定的。利益攸关方讨论机构结核病论坛于 2018 年成立，并在三个工作组（科学、财务和实施）的支持下，在新战略下继续发展。该战略制定了解决牛与牛和獾与牛之间 bTB 传播的行动，以及改善农场生物安全和赋予农民自主选择以降低 bTB 风险的行动。新战略下已经开展了大规模的獾疫苗接种活动，疫苗接种计划覆盖了超过 20,000 平方公里，2021 年在疫苗接种区捕获了 6,586 只獾。疫苗接种工作得到了密集的宣传活动的补充，包括网络支持的软件应用程序（ “应用程序”）使农民能够报告獾的位置。自 2021 年 4 月起，对结核菌素皮试结果不确定的牛进行了重新测试，使用伽马干扰素血液测试，由于该测试的灵敏度更高，能够更有效地识别真正感染的牛。针对长期或重复出现 bTB 故障的牛群，已制定了强化的监督流程。全基因组测序用于研究故障之间的联系，其结果支持病例管理中的操作决策。包括生物安全建议在内的沟通是与利益相关者共同设计的，以提高其有效性。一项由兽医从业人员为其客户提供量身定制的 bTB 生物安全建议的计划于 2021 年制定，并于 2022 年在全国范围内推广。新战略的核心要素是根据科学研究和数据不断改进政策，以应对不断变化的 bTB 风险。然后与利益相关者协商实施。