Progress is being made towards a cattle vaccine and companion skin test for bovine tuberculosis (TB), with the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) announcing today (Tuesday, 21 October) that its field trials have moved to the next phase.
This will mark the third phase of field trials carried out by APHA and will involve at least 10 farms with 750 animals participating.
All the enrolled animals will receive the Cattle vaccine and the companion Detect Infected Among Vaccinated Animals (DIVA) skin test.
The field trials are taking place on commercial livestock farms across the low-risk Area in England and the low TB area in Wales, and are due to be completed in 2026.
Field trials
The lead scientist for TB at APHA, Dr. Camille Szmaragd Harrison explained that the first two phases of field trials have proven that the vaccine and skin tests are safe to use.
She added that this next phase “has been designed to provide additional information to guide how the vaccine and skin test can be deployed most effectively to support England and Wales eradication strategies”.
The completion of phase 3 will mark the end of field trials for the vaccine conducted by APHA.
The agency will use data from the trials to support applications for Great Britain (GB) Marketing Authorisations for both the use of the vaccine in cattle and the companion skin test.
Looking ahead
APHA hopes that the combination of the CattleBCG vaccine and the companion DIVA skin test will be deployable in the next few years.
It stated that the vaccine and skin test could help stop the spread of TB, with over 60,000 cattle in England and Wales being slaughtered during 2023/2024 to tackle the disease.
The UK chief veterinary officer, Christine Middlemiss said: “The UK is at the forefront of global efforts to develop effective TB cattle vaccines, and we are moving ever closer to having an operable vaccine.
“If this next phase is successful, we are one step closer to a vaccine which, used in conjunction with other measures, will help tackle this insidious disease that impacts livestock farmers across the globe.”
