The decision by DAERA last Friday to postpone the next planned release of the NI Food Animal Information System (NIFAIS), due to happen on Monday 12 June 2023, will have implications for TB testing later in the year.

To facilitate the movement of data from APHIS over to NIFAIS, the Department had enforced a reduction in on-farm TB testing from 29 May through to 17 June 2023.

A further pause in testing will be necessary around a new launch date for NIFAIS, which will not be before July 2023, and potentially could be a “number of months”.

Explaining the reason for the late decision not to proceed with the switchover, the Department said it was necessary to “facilitate further testing and integration with industry IT systems”, adding it was important all users are satisfied they can interact fully with NIFAIS.

Inconclusives at a test

It is understood that a change in how DAERA view inconclusive (IC) animals at a TB test will also not happen until NIFAIS is launched.

As reported in last week’s edition, under the current system, where a herd has not had a reactor in three years, it could continue to trade normally when an IC is found, with only that individual animal under movement restriction.

This arrangement will not carry over into NIFAIS, so once it comes into operation, where an IC is found, herd movement restrictions will automatically apply.

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NIFAIS update to disrupt TB tests later in 2023

A break in TB testing in NI will be necessary later this year to facilitate a switch to a new IT database.