Jm. Griffin et al., A CASE-CONTROL STUDY ON THE ASSOCIATION OF SELECTED RISK-FACTORS WITHTHE OCCURRENCE OF BOVINE TUBERCULOSIS IN THE REPUBLIC-OF-IRELAND, Preventive veterinary medicine, 27(1-2), 1996, pp. 75-87
We did a case-control study on the association between the occurrence
of bovine tuberculosis in herds in the East Offaly area and a number o
f possible risk factors; herd size, the purchasing of cattle, the herd
history, the status of contiguous herds, distance to the nearest badg
er sett, and animal factors such as age, breed and animal type, The ch
aracteristics of 100 herds that had a confirmed outbreak of tuberculos
is at a herd test in 1988 were compared with those from an equal numbe
r of herds that passed at least one tuberculin test during that year,
The study base consisted of 1379 herds mainly from the eastern part of
County Offaly, The data were analysed at both herd and animal levels.
Factors that were associated with an increased risk of tuberculosis b
reakdowns at the herd level were (i) the total number of animals in th
e herd, and (ii) the restriction of a contiguous herd for tuberculosis
within a period of 6 months prior to or following the herd under stud
y. A number of factors were associated with an animal having an increa
sed risk of failing a tuberculin test. After adjusting for all other v
ariables in the model, cows, heifers and bullocks were 10.3, 14.8 and
8.0 times, respectively, more likely to fail a tuberculin test than ca
lves. Cattle that had been purchased since the previous herd test were
less likely to fail a tuberculin test compared with cattle that had b
een present at the time of the preceding herd test.