Minister Muir announces the criteria for mandatory interferon-gamma for bovine Tuberculosis in Northern Ireland
Date published:
The Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Andrew Muir MLA, has today published his Department’s criteria for the mandatory use of interferon-gamma (IFN-g) blood tests for bovine Tuberculosis in Northern Ireland. Initially, herds with 10 or more skin reactors at a disclosure TB test or herds with more than 40 reactors within a rolling 12-month period will be required to undertake mandatory IFN-g testing.
This mandatory testing will not apply to beef fattening herds. Mandatory IFN-g testing for animals that have given an inconclusive reaction to a skin test in non-breakdown or singleton reactor herds where bTB has not been confirmed is also being introduced.
Minister Muir said: “I am pleased to announce the criteria for the use of the supplementary IFN-g blood test on a mandatory basis. The IFN-g test is an important diagnostic tool which assists the bovine TB skin test in the early detection and removal of positive bovine TB reactor animals. Placing its use on a compulsory footing, where qualifying criteria have been met, has been a long-standing policy objective.”
The Minister concluded: “My Department will now work closely with those farmers whose herds are suffering a bad TB breakdown to maximise the effectiveness of the IFN-g test. Its use can reduce the further spread of this awful disease within a herd and to neighbouring herds and can also help shorten the length of time a herd is broken down.”
The changes will come into effect from 29 June 2026.
Further information on the IFN-g blood test.
Notes to editors:
- The interferon-gamma test is a diagnostic test for bovine TB approved by the World Organisation for Animal Health and is also noted as an official test for this disease in European legislation. It is primarily used to supplement the use for the tuberculin skin test within TB breakdowns and is particularly important for identifying infection at an earlier stage than the skin test.
- Its use to date in Northern Ireland has been on a voluntary basis with DAERA offering it to some herd owners whose herds are suffering a bovine TB disease outbreak. The use of the test is now to be made mandatory where qualifying criteria have been met. This was consulted upon in 2021 as part of the 2022 TB Eradication Strategy and has been included as an action within that Strategy and as part of the 2025 Bovine TB in Northern Ireland: Blueprint for Eradication.
- The move, which does not require a legislative change, will bring Northern Ireland into line with policy elsewhere in the UK and Ireland.
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