The findings suggest that a significant number of older cows may carry the disease for many years without being caught by the standard annual skin test. Stock image: Getty
New research has revealed that the standard bovine tuberculosis (bTB) skin test may be significantly under-diagnosing older adult cows in Ireland.
A study involving over 267,000 cattle found that while skin test results usually peak in animals around three years old, the more sensitive ‘interferon-gamma’ (GIF) assay shows a very different trend.