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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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Free CPD announced for BVNA members

News Story 1
 Zoetis is to present a CPD event for free to members of the British Veterinary Nursing Association (BVNA).

Led by veterinary consultant Ruth Moxon, the one-hour online session is designed to help veterinary nurses discuss parasiticide options with clients. It will advise on structuring recommendations, factors for product choice and moving away from 'selling'.

'How do you recommend parasite treatments to your clients?' will be presented on Tuesday, 20 May at 7.30pm. It is free for BVNA members, with 15.00 tickets for non-members.

Veterinary nurses can email cpd@bvna.co.uk to book their place. 

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News Shorts
BBC Radio 4 documentary addresses corporate fees

BBC Radio 4's File on 4 Investigates has released a documentary exploring how corporate-owned veterinary practices may be inflating bills to increase profit.

Released on 15 April, 'What's Happening To Your Vet Bills?' revealed the policies which many corporate groups have in place to increase their profits. This included targets and upgrades which veterinary teams are tasked with meeting on a regular basis.

It also features Anrich Vets, an independently-owned practice based in Wigan. Following the case of Staffordshire terrier Benjy, who is diagnosed with a tumour, the documentary shares how the team were able to offer contextualised care and advice to make the procedure as affordable as possible for his owners.

The documentary can be heard on demand on BBC iPlayer.