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EmailIphone Application    Posted: 14th September 2010
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Concern Over Use of Statistics in TB Campaign
Wales’ Chief Veterinary Officer, Dr. Christianne Glossop, has written to the Chairman of the Badger Trust to express her concerns at the way the Trust is using the TB National Statistics in their campaigning.

According to Dr Glossop, while recently there has been a welcome decline in the monthly TB statistics, the historical trend is still upward. The assertion by the Badger Trust that the fall in the numbers is “in line with longer-term statistics showing a consistent downward trend of about seven percent over the last two and a half years both in Wales and Great Britain as a whole” is therefore untrue.

In her letter to the Badger Trust, Dr. Glossop said: “While any reduction in the TB statistics is welcome, it would be premature to suggest a turning point has been reached, based on the available data. Statistics must be used and interpreted with care and the TB statistics need to be analysed over time to observe a trend. TB is a long term epidemic and historically the trend has been upwards. We have seen short term falls before – for example in 2004 and 2006.

   “As much as we would like to take credit for the recent decrease observed in the Welsh TB statistics, it is far too early to say whether the stricter cattle controls, increased testing and our zero tolerance approach to not complying with regulations are making a difference."  

In her letter the Chief Vet included charts of the number of animals slaughtered and the number of confirmed new incidents each quarter for Wales and the whole of Britain from 2007 to 2010 extracted from the National Statistics. The charts reinforce the danger of trying to identify short term trends and turning points in the presence of such huge variation.

The main picture is a highly variable series with large variations around any underlying trend. The main messages are:
  • The levels of TB remain unacceptably high;
  • The number of animals slaughtered in quarter 4 2008 and quarter 1 2009 seem high compared to the rest of the series, particularly in Wales;
  • Results for later 2009 and 2010 are broadly in line with similar periods in 2007 and 2008.
Dr. Glossop said that she was pleased that the Trust supported the cattle measures that the Welsh Assembly Government have put in place within the pilot area in west Wales, as the TB Eradication Programme has recognised from the outset that these stricter controls will play an important part to reduce the risks of spreading bovine TB.

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Practices urged to audit neutering data

News Story 1
 RCVS Knowledge has called on vet practices to audit their post-operative neutering outcomes.

It follows the release of the 2024 NASAN benchmarking report, which collates data from neutering procedures performed on dogs, cats and rabbits.

The benchmarking report enables practices in the UK and Ireland to compare their post-operative outcomes to the national average. This includes the rate of patients lost to follow-up, which in 2024 increased to 23 per cent.

Anyone from the practice can submit the data using a free template. The deadline for next report is February 2026.

Visit the RCVS Knowledge website to complete an audit. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
RCVS pays tribute to well-loved equine vet

The RCVS and the Riding Establishments Subcommittee has paid tribute to well-loved veterinary surgeon and riding establishment inspector, Rebecca Hamilton-Fletcher MRCVS.

Linda Belton MRCVS, RCVS President, said: "I, along with my colleagues on the RESC, RCVS Council, RCVS Standards Committee, as well as RCVS staff, was very saddened to hear of the sudden death of Rebecca, or Becca as we knew her, last week.

"She was a true advocate for equine welfare and in her many years on the RESC worked to continually improve the quality and consistency of riding establishment inspections, all in the interests of enhanced horse welfare and rider safety."