News
November 2025
- Integrating whole-genome sequencing and epidemiology to characterise Mycobacterium bovis transmission in Ireland: a proof of concept
In the Republic of Ireland, the herd-level incidence of bovine tuberculosis (bTB), caused by Mycobacterium bovis, reached 6.4% by June 2025, highlighting bTB's risk to animal health, biosecurity and the economy. The complexity of bTB epidemiology, driven by multiple host species, undetected transmission and incomplete diagnostic sensitivity, makes surveillance and control challenging. Pathogen whole-genome sequencing (WGS) can clarify transmission dynamics but is constrained by the slow, variable mutation rate of M. bovis. This pilot case study integrates WGS with epidemiological data to elucidate transmission event pathways and could be a starting point for future automation. A decision-tree framework was developed to classify likely transmission event pathways by integrating M. bovis WGS sourced from the bTBGenie research project and epidemiological data. Transmission event pathways for this case herd were classified as "local area transmission", "within-herd transmission", and "cattle movement-associated transmission", divided into "between-herd" and "within-herd" transmission. Integrating WGS with detailed epidemiology enables identification of probable bTB transmission event pathways, revealing undetected infections and highlighting biosecurity concerns associated with undetected carriers. The decision-tree framework provides a scalable approach for retrospective outbreak investigation, targeted surveillance, and efficient resource allocation, particularly in high-risk systems such as Controlled Finishing Units. The findings in the study highlight the importance of transboundary collaboration in persistent bTB hotspots. Automating this approach could support validation of disease epidemiological models, guide targeted interventions, and optimise resource allocation, supporting Ireland's goal of bTB eradication. The study included researchers from UCD CVERA, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute NI (AFBI), DAFM Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) & the UCD School of Veterinary Medicine. The paper by Harvey et al will be published in the (opens in a new window)Irish Veterinary Journal shortly. - Q fever in Ireland characterising zoonotic risk
Q fever is a bacterial infection found in many Irish cattle. It is also known as coxiellosis and is caused by the bacteria Coxiella Burnetii. Both animals and people can be infected without showing any signs. In cattle, it can cause abortions and fertility problems. In people, symptoms, if they appear, can include fever, headache, muscle aches, or cough. Most people recover fully, but it can be more serious for pregnant women, people with heart problems, or those with weak immune systems. Even though Q fever is common in Irish cattle, very few human cases are reported each year. People usually get infected through close contact with livestock, particularly during calving or lambing. This means that many farmers may be exposed without knowing it. A new study, led by Dr. Katie Corridan, funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and based at the Centre for Veterinary Epidemiology and Risk Analysis (UCD School of Veterinary Medicine), in collaboration with colleagues from St Vincents University Hospital and Beaumont Hospital, is investigating this gap and is seeking farmers to take part. Volunteers fill out a short questionnaire and give a small blood sample, which is tested for Q fever antibodies. This free test can show if the volunteer has been exposed to Q fever in the past. The results from this study will help researchers understand who is at risk, raise awareness and support better protection for farmers’ health. For more information, please visit here. - Preparation for a potential outbreak of bluetongue virus in Ireland: surveillance design to estimate local prevalence after an initial case detection
Bluetongue virus serotype 3 emerged in northern Europe in 2023 and 2024. As of September 2025, Ireland is bluetongue free. However, to inform control decisions in the event of a possible incursion, a surveillance plan to detect cases and estimate prevalence is required. We created an active surveillance plan for 20 km radius temporary control zones (TCZs) after initial case detection. Potential TCZs (n = 1,062) covering Ireland were generated, and surveillance sample sizes were estimated based on cattle data in each TCZ. A two-stage (herd and animal level) design accounted for within-herd clustering. We simulated implementation of the surveillance plan in each TCZ to understand surveillance performance in the Irish cattle population. Within herd prevalence of 30% was used for all simulations, and we assumed the use of RT-PCR with perfect specificity and 99% sensitivity for diagnosis. Based on 100 simulations per TCZ, mean apparent animal level prevalence within tested infected herds ranged from 25 to 32%. With simulated between-herd prevalence of 5%, when between 39 and 61 herds per TCZ were sampled, apparent between-herd prevalence ranged between 3% and 6%. With simulated between-herd prevalence of 30%, and 10–11 herds per TCZ sampled, apparent between-herd prevalence ranged from 20 to 36%. Within herds, sampling 10–11 cattle was sufficient for prevalence estimation. We integrated Shiny and ArcGIS web applications to allow users to simulate scenarios under different settings. These include different test sensitivity and specificity, and different within- and between- herd prevalence contexts. This interface presents infected herds sampled, and true- and false- positives and negatives in a variety of conditions. Evidence from this scenario analysis can be integrated into a multi-pronged early warning and potential follow-up surveillance programme to facilitate decision making in the event of an incursion of BTV into Ireland. The web application associated with this paper is available (opens in a new window)here. This paper by Casey-Bryars et al is available at (opens in a new window)Irish Veterinary Journal 78, 30 (2025). - Estimating sectoral livestock biomass and stock value using data from national diseases eradication programs: a case study based on the Irish cattle herd from 2011 to 2021
Livestock biomass is a denominator for a wide range of important production metrics, including productivity, environmental impact, greenhouse gas emissions, and antimicrobial usage. Accurate biomass estimates allow cross-sectoral and international comparisons for these important indices across a range of high-priority areas, which can then inform policy risk assessments and decision-making. Similarly, accurate estimates of the value of livestock are needed to monitor economic efficiency and productivity and understand the costs associated with animal health policy decisions. Previous methods to estimate biomass have relied on assigning an average liveweight for a given species and multiplying this by the number of individual animals of that species in a region. However, without taking into account the population’s demographics and structure, these approaches cannot be relied upon to accurately represent the cattle population. Using data from the Irish cattle herd as a case study, this study developed liveweight and value models and applied these models to a cattle registration and movement database to estimate the biomass (kg) and economic stock value (€) of each animal and herd, aggregated by herd type based on a herd classification tree model, and explored trends in biomass and stock value over time. The Irish cattle sector biomass increased from 2,924,800 tonnes in 2011 to 3,317,100 tonnes in 2021, and the cattle sector stock value increased from €6,323.7 m in 2011 to €8,792.3 m in 2021. Furthermore, this study demonstrated the biomass and stock value within-year and between years. This study illustrate a novel approach using real-time movement data for dynamic estimates of biomass and stock value at animal-, herd- and national-level that can be applied in countries with existing animal registration and movement tracing systems. The paper was led by Emma-Jane Murray and included collaborators from the UCD School of Veterinary Medicine, the Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, UCD CVERA, Animal Health Ireland, the Glenythan Vet Group and the Dunnydeer Veterinary Group in Aberdeenshire. Murray et al is available at (opens in a new window)Frontiers in Veterinary Science 12, 1648948 (2025). - Herd-level prevalence of high fat-to-protein ratio and associated factors during early lactation in Irish spring-calving dairy herds
This study used national milk data from over 11,051 Irish spring-calving dairy herds from 2014 to 2023 to assess herd-level prevalence of high fat-to-protein ratio (FPR) (>1.4), as a proxy measure for negative energy balance (NEB), and associated factors. NEB during early lactation increases the risk of metabolic disease, reduces fertility performance, and limits profitability in dairy systems. Median herd-level prevalence of high FPR (>1.4) <30 DIM had a 10-year mean of 14.57% (annual median ranged from 10.81 to 20%), decreasing to 8.10% (annual median ranged from 6.09 to 12.90%) from ≥30 to <60 DIM, with annual variation noted. Results highlighted seasonal and herd-level factors influencing herd-level prevalence of high FPR. The months of February and March, coinciding with housing, feeding of conserved forage, peak calving, and early grazing periods, were associated with the highest prevalence. Genetic traits and 305-day milk yield were linked to herd-level prevalence of high FPR. Higher-yielding herds were associated with reduced odds of increased herd-level prevalence of high FPR, i.e., reduced risk of NEB at herd level. These findings identify important factors associated with herd-level prevalence of high FPR during early lactation, which can help inform future preventative strategies aimed at improving herd health, productivity, and sustainability in Irish dairy herds. This paper was led by Raffaela Marian from the Section of Herd Health and Animal Husbandry in the UCD School of Veterinary Medicine. The paper by Marian et al is available at (opens in a new window)Animals 15, 3068 (2025). - DisplayTB
DisplayTB has been updated to include Bovine Tuberculosis (bTB) data for Q3/2025. Additional functionality including ability to select information by county and reginal veterinary office has been added. The DisplayTB mapping dashboard was created by CVERA as part of a research program into Bovine Tuberculosis (bTB) being conducted by the Centre for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM). The National TB Forum highlighted the need for DAFM to communicate area risk of bTB to farmers. As such, CVERA created an interface to allow stakeholders to view the current and recent bTB status of herds in their area of interest. Please note, this is an ongoing research project, and the content is likely to change over time. The values presented are compiled by CVERA from data snapshots provided by DAFM. This may result in some errors of interpretation and may not account for errors of corrections in the source data held by DAFM. For this reason, the dashboard is considered only a research prototype and should not be used for official reporting purposes. To protect the identity of individual farmers, a process was developed to aggregate farms into larger spatial units. To view the DisplayTB mapper, please visit (opens in a new window)https://tinyurl.com/mr38vkyp - One Health Centre Conference 2025 - One Health UCD
The UCD One Health Centre Conference "From Priorities and Clusters to Real-World Impact: One Health in Action" is being held on the 9th of December in O'Reilly Hall in University College Dublin. The conference will bring together internationally renowned speakers and will showcase the depth and breadth of UCD and Ireland’s One Health expertise. From cutting-edge research and education to policy, public health, agriculture, and environmental action, contributors will span government, academia, civil society and international organisations. For more information and to register for the conference, please visit (https://www.ucd.ie/onehealth/newsandevents/onehealthcentreconference2025/). A special early bird rate is available until the 28th of November 2025.
March 2025
- Retirement of Professor Simon More
Simon More, Professor of Veterinary Epidemiology and Director of the UCD CVERA, retired from UCD in 2024 after more than 20 years in the School of Veterinary Medicine. During his time in CVERA, Simon authored or coauthored almost 300 scientific papers in international peer-reviewed journals on a vast range of topics including bovine tuberculosis Covid-19, fish health, domestic pet populations, Bovine Viral Diarrhoea Virus, and equine welfare. Throughout his time in CVERA, Simon always endeavoured to conduct independent, peer-reviewed research with the aim of assisting policy colleagues in making informed decisions in the fields of animal health, animal welfare and One Health. As a Professor in the School, Simon made a substantial contribution to both undergraduate and postgraduate teaching programmes and supervised many Masters and PhD students. He was appointed Associate Dean for Research, Innovation and Impact in 2018. Simon was also a member of the School’s Senior Management Team and a member of the Athena SWAN Action Team. Simon worked closely with colleagues in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and provided scientific expertise to DAFM on a wide range of animal health issues. Simon was heavily involved in the work of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Colleagues in CVERA thank Simon for his huge contribution and, more importantly, his friendship over the last 20 years. An extended version of this can be found in the UCD School of Veterinary Medicine Newsletter (Autumn 2024 edition). - Professor Conor McAloon has been appointed Director of the Centre for Veterinary Epidemiology and Risk Analysis
Prof. Conor McAloon has been appointed Director of CVERA following the retirement of Prof. Simon More. Conor is originally from a dairy farm in Co. Tyrone and qualified as a veterinary surgeon from UCD in 2011. Conor worked in mixed practice in Strabane, Co. Tyrone before returning to UCD in 2013. He is recognised by the European College of Veterinary Specialisation as a Specialist in Bovine Health Management, and by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons as a Specialist in Cattle Health and Production. In 2017, he completed a PhD in the epidemiology and control of Johne’s Disease in Irish dairy herds. Conor worked as a clinician and lecturer in Bovine Health Management in the UCD School of Veterinary Medicine where he divided his time between clinical work, teaching and research. Conor has an extensive research background in all aspects of cattle health, production and welfare, and is actively involved in research in dairy calf pneumonia, Johne's disease, surveillance, epidemiology, welfare, antimicrobial use and biosecurity. (opens in a new window)For more information, please visit here. - Eradication of bovine tuberculosis in Ireland: is it a case of now or never?
There has been a sharp disimprovement in the bovine tuberculosis (bTB) situation in Ireland in recent years. This commentary by Prof. Simon More argues for critical programme change in three overarching themes relevant to the Irish bTB eradication programme, if eradication is to be successful: (1) Limiting infection in cattle; (2) Limiting infection within and from wildlife; and (3) Programme leadership, management, governance and cost-sharing. In these three themes, most of the constraints are non-technical. If difficult decisions are not taken and the status quo is allowed to continue, there is a risk that infection may establish in further wildlife species, which may make eradication unattainable. Current decisions (including inaction) will impact future generations, including the general public (through the Exchequer) and future farming families. The full commentary can be accessed for free at the (opens in a new window)Irish Veterinary Journal 77, 22. - Farm fragmentation in Ireland
Farm fragmentation refers to spatial disaggregation of farms into smaller, often highly separated parcels of land. This can create a number of problems; administrative, economic, environmental and epidemiological. Ireland has a high proportion of fragmented farms, although this issue is not unique to Ireland. From an epidemiological perspective, where a farm is heavily fragmented, there is uncertainty in assigning a location to where livestock have spent time on that farm. We explore techniques to quantify the extent and regional variation in fragmentation and the between fragment distances of fragmented farms in Ireland with the aim of reducing this uncertainty. The findings, which have been made available as an online resource, allow for more precision in spatial analyses of bovine populations and help enhance surveillance and field epidemiology. This paper, which was led by Guy McGrath, is freely accessible at the (opens in a new window)Veterinaria Italiana 60, 4. - Computing metrics to inform selection of candidate areas for a regionalized approach to bovine tuberculosis eradication in Ireland
Tratalos et al describe the computation of metrics to inform the selection of areas for a regionalised approach to bovine tuberculosis eradication in Ireland. Their aim was not to recommend suitable regions but to elucidate the criteria used in metric selection and comment on the diversity of metric values amongst regions. The 26 counties of Ireland were compared using 20 metrics, grouped into five categories: region size and cattle population, herd fragmentation, cattle movement, bovine TB testing, badger population and control. Fragmentation metrics, measuring the proportion of herds with land in at least two counties, varied considerably by county, from 1% to 24 %. Between 25 % and 92 % of moves into herds came from a different county, illustrating the likely disruption in trade that a regionalized approach could entail. Cattle movement networks were combined with a risk model to calculate the proportion of moves which would be deemed risky under a risk-based trading regime and these results were compared to a more traditional approach based on the herd type and test history of each herd, with many fewer moves potentially restricted using the latter approach. The authors show how correlation between region size and some of the metrics complicates their interpretation. This paper, which was led by Jamie Tratalos, is freely accessible at the (opens in a new window)Veterinaria Italiana 60, 4. - CVERA is now on BlueSky
Follow us at (opens in a new window)@ucd-cvera.bsky.social where we will keep you up to date on recent publications that CVERA members lead or contribute to.
January 2025
- DisplayTB
The DisplayTB mapping dashboard was created by CVERA as part of a research program into Bovine Tuberculosis (bTB) being conducted by the Centre for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM). The National TB Forum highlighted the need for DAFM to communicate area risk of bTB to farmers. As such, CVERA created an interface to allow stakeholders to view the current and recent bTB status of herds in their area of interest. Please note, this is an ongoing research project, and the content is likely to change over time. The values presented are compiled by CVERA from data snapshots provided by DAFM. This may result in some errors of interpretation and may not account for errors of corrections in the source data held by DAFM. For this reason, the dashboard is considered only a research prototype and should not be used for official reporting purposes. To protect the identity of individual farmers, a process was developed to aggregate farms into larger spatial units. To view the DisplayTB mapper, please visit (opens in a new window)https://tinyurl.com/mr38vkyp
June 2024
- Vacancy for the roll of Full Professor / Professor of Veterinary Epidemiology and Risk Analysis in the UCD School of Veterinary Medicine (Permanent)
University College Dublin invites applications for the position of Full Professor/ Professor of Veterinary Epidemiology and Risk Analysis in the UCD School of Veterinary Medicine. The postholder will also serve as Director of the Centre for Veterinary Epidemiology and Risk Analysis. The new Professor will be an international leader in veterinary epidemiology, with a commitment to scientific quality, independence, transparency, integrity, and interdisciplinary collaboration. The successful candidate will build a vigorous world-class programme of veterinary epidemiological research and training and will be committed to the dissemination of high-impact research outputs. In support of the School Dean, they will provide academic leadership for the development of veterinary epidemiology, support and maintain excellence in research and teaching, and mentoring support to earlier-career academic colleagues. The new Professor will also serve as the CVERA Director, with responsibility for leadership and management of this Centre, and (with the independent CVERA Management Board) also its overall strategic direction and governance. The successful candidate will bring energy and ambition, and a clear vision for the Centre, so that it is best placed to undertake scientific research and support, and to provide robust and timely scientific advice into the future, in alignment with the current and future needs of key stakeholders, including DAFM and AHI. They will provide an inclusive and empathic leadership style within the Centre, with an emphasis on capacity-building and collaboration. There are substantial opportunities for Centre expansion, through further national and international collaboration and additional competitive research funding. The successful candidate will be committed to public good research, ideally with prior experience working at the science-policy interface. Scientific communication with key stakeholders, including farmers, is an important aspect of the role. The successful candidate will have a primary veterinary degree and a PhD in veterinary epidemiology. If you would like more information or details on how to apply for the role, please visit https://www.ucd.ie/workatucd/jobs/ (job ref. 017346) (closing date 28 June 2024 @ 12.00 noon). - Vacancy for the roll of Research Veterinary Epidemiologist in the UCD School of Veterinary Medicine (Temporary 3 years)
CVERA is currently seeking to hire a Research Veterinary Epidemiologist to join our research team. The successful candidate will lead and manage epidemiological research studies across the full project lifecycle, from project design through to scientific publication. They will provide specialist expertise to the design, planning, analysis and publication of epidemiological studies as well as providing general veterinary advice in support of projects led or managed by CVERA Colleagues. The successful candidate will have a primary veterinary degree and a PhD in veterinary epidemiology. If you would like more information or details on how to apply for the role, please visit https://www.ucd.ie/workatucd/jobs/ (job ref. 017348) (closing date 17 June 2024 @ 12.00 noon). - Estimation of sensitivity and specificity of bulk tank milk PCR and 2 antibody ELISA tests for herd-level diagnosis of Mycoplasma bovis infection using Bayesian latent class analysis
Mycoplasmosis (due to infection with Mycoplasma bovis) is a serious disease of beef and dairy cattle, with adverse impacts on health, welfare and productivity. A robust and reliable laboratory test for surveillance is important both for herd-level prevention and control. The objective of this study was to estimate the sensitivity and specificity of 3 diagnostic tests (one PCR and 2 ELISA tests) on bulk tank milk, for the herd-level detection of M. bovis. In total, 728 herds were included in the study. Bulk milk samples were collected in autumn 2018, as part of routine surveillance conducted by the laboratory service of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and tested using a Bio-X ELISA, an IDvet ELISA and a PCR test. A Bayesian latent class analysis was conducted to estimate the sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) of these tests applied to bulk tank milk (BTM) for the detection of the herd-level infection. Across the 3 models used in the analysis, an estimated 38% to 65% of Irish dairy herds were infected with M. bovis. The operating characteristics vary substantially between tests, with the IDvet ELISA having a relatively high Se (the highest of the 3 tests studied). This test may be appropriate for herd-level screening or prevalence estimation within the context of the endemically infected Irish dairy cattle population. Further work is required to optimize this test and its interpretation when applied at herd-level to offset concerns related to the lower than optimal test Sp. This study was led by Catherine McAloon in the UCD School of Veterinary Medicine in collaboration with colleagues from the UCD CVERA, Animal Health Ireland, and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The paper is Published in the (opens in a new window)Journal of Dairy Science (in press). (opens in a new window) - An epidemiological investigation into the reasons for high bovine tuberculosis incidence in cattle herds of the Burren, Ireland, prior to 2020
This study investigated why cattle herds in The Burren in Co. Clare often suffered from high rates of bovine TB infection prior to 2021 (bTB rates have improved considerably since then, as a result of concerted efforts from stakeholders). The authors found little evidence that this was because of factors usually held responsible for high TB prevalence, such a large herd sizes, high numbers of cattle movements, or badgers. However, herds with a history of bTB were often situated in areas of higher than average rainfall and, though not large by national standards, were typically larger than the average for the Burren. This paper was led by Jamie Tratalos in CVERA in collaboration with colleagues from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The paper will shortly be published in (opens in a new window)The Irish Veterinary Journal (in press).
February 2024
- CVERA Strategic Plan 2024-27
The CVERA Strategic Plan for 2024-27 was recently completed, with a focus on strategic leadership and impact, scientific excellence, communications and engagement, and organisational effectiveness. Our ongoing ambition is as a trusted, independent scientific voice, informing the national discussion on animal health, animal welfare, and One Health issues. Our focus is strategic in nature, and we seek to positively influence policy. Scientific excellence is central to our work, and this strategic plan outlines the steps that we will take over the next 4 years to ensure the quality, scope, independence, and timely delivery of our scientific research. The UCD CVERA Strategic Plan 2024-27, which was launched by Minister McConalogue (Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine) during December 2023, is available at https://www.ucd.ie/cvera/reports/. - The impact of changing the cut-off threshold of the interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) assay for diagnosing bovine tuberculosis in Ireland
In Ireland, the interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) assay is routinely used as an ancillary test interpreted in parallel with the single intradermal comparative tuberculin test (SICTT) to maximize the detection of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) infected animals. Up until 2018, a positive test result was recorded in the IFN-γ ELISA assay following whole blood stimulation with purified protein derivative (PPD)-bovine (B), PPD-avian (A) and nil sample (N), using the interpretation criteria, B-N > 50 optical density units (OD), B > 100 and B-A > 0. Following a review of available data, the threshold of the B-A component changed to B-A > 80. The aims of this study were to follow animals that initially tested negative using the new IFN-γ assay interpretation criteria and investigate their future risk of disclosure with bTB, with a focus on animals that otherwise would have been removed when using the older interpretation criteria (0 < B-A ≤ 80). Survival analysis showed that animals that would have been removed under the old interpretation criteria were at increased risk of a positive diagnosis with bTB during follow-up compared to other test negative animals. This paper, which was led by Jamie Madden in collaboration with staff from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the University of Limerick and the UCD School of Veterinary Medicine, is published in (opens in a new window)Preventive Veterinary Medicine 224, 106129. - Inferring bovine tuberculosis transmission between cattle and badgers via the environment and risk mapping
The objective of this study is to better understand bTB transmission between cattle and badgers via the environment in a spatially explicit context and to identify high-risk areas. We developed an environmental transmission model that incorporates both within-herd/territory transmission and between-species transmission, with the latter facilitated by badger territories overlapping with herd areas. Our estimation showed that the environment can play an important role in the transmission of bTB, with a half-life of M. bovis in the environment of around 177 days. Based on the estimated transmission rate parameters, we calculate the basic reproduction ratio (R) within a herd, which reveals how relative badger density dictates transmission. In addition, we simulated transmission in each small local area to generate a first between-herd R map that identifies high-risk areas. This paper, which was led by You Chang from the Wageningen University and Research Centre in collaboration with Colleagues from the UCD School of Veterinary Medicine, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the UCD School of Veterinary Medicine and UCD CVERA, is published in (opens in a new window)Frontiers in Veterinary Science 10, 1233173. - Ear to the Ground / Today with Claire Byrne appearances
Prof Simon More appeared on the two RTÉ programmes in late 2023 to discuss aspects of bovine tuberculosis control in Ireland. He appeared on the (opens in a new window)2/11/2023 edition of "Ear to the Ground", which is a farming and rural affairs programme on RTÉ television. He also appeared on the (opens in a new window)6/12/2023 edition of “Today with Claire Byrne”, which is a current affairs radio programme on RTÉ radio. - Can a regional approach be applied to achieve eradication of bovine tuberculosis in Ireland?
The TB Forum Scientific Working Group (SWG) received a request from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) to examine the potential effectiveness of using a regional approach to facilitate the eradication of bTB in Ireland. In disease eradication programmes, regionalisation is used to create ‘risk boundaries’, thereby allowing disease control and surveillance to be differentiated based on risk, to prioritise resource allocation, and to protect lower risk areas. This scientific opinion investigates whether or not a regionalised approach to the eradication of bovine tuberculosis in Ireland would be appropriate. The scientific opinion, led by John Griffin, is published in (opens in a new window)Food Risk Assess Europe 2, 0017E. - New UCD position as Associate Professor in Companion Animal Health & Welfare Surveillance
Candidates are being sought for the new position of Associate Professor in Companion Animal Health & Welfare Surveillance in the UCD School of Veterinary Medicine. The successful candidate will establish a robust system for companion animal health & welfare surveillance in Ireland based on data that are routinely collected by commercial veterinary practices. Utilising this system and in collaboration with others, the candidate will lead and facilitate a diverse programme of research on the health & welfare of the companion animal population in Ireland. It is expected that research emphasis will be placed on areas of particular importance to national policy-makers, including companion animal demography, health surveillance, animal welfare, and antimicrobial stewardship. Further details about the position (description, salary scale, duration, closing date, application process) can be found at www.ucd.ie/workatucd/jobs/ using the Job Ref: 016944. - Guidance on protocol development for EFSA generic scientific assessments
EFSA Strategy 2027 outlines the need for fit-for-purpose protocols for EFSA generic scientific assessments to aid in delivering trustworthy scientific advice. This EFSA Scientific Committee guidance document helps address this need by providing a harmonised and flexible framework for developing protocols for EFSA generic assessments. The guidance is complemented by a standalone ‘template’ for EFSA protocols that guides the users step by step through the process of planning an EFSA scientific assessment. This guidance document by the EFSA Scientific Committee (SC) is published in (opens in a new window)The EFSA Journal 21, 8312. - Environmental scenarios for ApisRAM version 3, a honey bee colony model for pesticides risk assessment
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is supporting the development of ApisRAM version 3, which is a honey bee colony computer model that simulates effects on individual bees and the colony from their exposure to multiple stressors. In particular, ApisRAM assesses either single or multiple pesticides in interaction with other stressors and factors. It is intended that ApisRAM will be used in pest risk assessment in the coming years. This technical report considers a range of environmental scenarios that represent the diversity of European environments in terms of risk for honey bees. It was developed by members of the EFSA’s working group on MUST-B (multiple stressors on honey bee colony health) is available at (opens in a new window)EFSA Supporting Publication 20, 8535.