The role of vitamin D in supporting an immune response to tackle persistent TB infection in cattle is under investigation.

Researchers from Northern Ireland and the Republic have commenced a tripartite collaboration to support the eradication of TB across the island.

Three research teams, led by Dr Kieran Meade in University College Dublin (UCD), in collaboration with Dr Tom Ford at the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) and Professor Ilias Kyriazakis from the Institute for Global Food Security at Queen's University Belfast, are involved in the project.

The partnership focuses on the role of circulating vitamin D concentrations in cattle herds which experience bovine TB relapses.

Cattle can acquire vitamin D in many ways, including through feed and UVB rays from the sun or artificial lighting.

Recurring TB

Those involved in the study say that EU, UK and Irish goals to eradicate TB in cattle cannot be met without an intensified focus on the reasons behind recurring TB on farms.

“Across the island of Ireland, it is estimated that TB-infected herds have a 30% to 40% chance of a repeat breakdown within three years, due to a relapse of infection,” they said.

UCD’s Dr Kieran Meade said: “Multiple studies now point to an animal-specific issue that prevents current diagnostic tests from identifying all truly infected cattle and these cattle act as a reservoir of persistent infection.

“The weight of evidence from the human literature and our exciting preliminary data suggests that vitamin D status will have a decisive impact on livestock immunity to diseases including TB.”

The researchers say that TB-infected herds have a 30% to 40% chance of a repeat breakdown within three years. \ Philip Doyle

Dr Meade said that with support from the Department of Agriculture, the collaborative research aims to identify host factors contributing to the relapse of TB in specific cattle or in herds.

He suggested that this new knowledge could augment the national strategies for TB eradication, north and south.

Immunology hub

The south-north project funding is also a first step toward developing an immunology hub on the island of Ireland, which will bring together expertise in nutrition, immunology and livestock management.

The hub will help capture the extent of vitamin D insufficiency in cattle herds across the island and determine the association between this and the herds’ immune responses to mycobacterial antigens.

Read more

Europe cuts funding for Irish TB eradication