News
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.