Tuberculosis (TB)

This research programme supported by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) began in Summer 2019. The programme investigates behavioural factors and remedies in support of the Government’s target of the eradication of TB from the Irish herd.  

The first stage of the project is complete. We undertook a large scale qualitative study to elicit comprehensively and inclusively the views of Irish farmers on TB and its eradication in Ireland. Interviews with farmers identified multiple specific factors involved in decisions to implement measures aimed at reducing the risk of TB incident, contexts in which this is less likely, and farmers’ concerns with the programme as it stands.

Understanding these factors and which are most important in various contexts will be crucial to the success of the eradication programme in Ireland. The next stage of the research programme is being designed. It will investigate further with experimental methods the mechanisms identified in the qualitative stage, and measure their respective influences.