Clinical Inspections and Examinations

6. Record the following in the remarks column or in the appropriate place in the testing record against the affected animal:

• any suspicious or unusual signs at the injection site, including the following:
• exudation (discharge from the site)
• necrosis (dead skin and underlying tissue)
• heat
• pain
• swelling of the pre-scapular lymph node (in front of the shoulder)
• any evidence of:
• skin TB
• Johne's Disease
• the presence of a Johne's Disease vaccine nodule in the brisket

7. Clinical signs such as exudation, necrosis, heat, acute pain or extreme swelling of the bovine tuberculin injection site (and/or the pre-scapular lymph node) are rare and do not reflect the nature of the typical allergic reaction to the intradermal injection of bovine tuberculin in sensitised cattle.

8. Whenever a TB tester encounters any of the unusual signs listed above, they must:

• treat them as suspicious
• contact the AVS or delegated OV immediately who will then
• investigate them (especially if observed in more than one animal or in different testing events of the same cattle herd) and
• contact APHA immediately

9. A test is not complete unless all eligible animals are either tested or slaughtered. Any animals not presented for measuring on day two are classified as 'untested'. The herd test is incomplete and restrictions may be served on the herd, should the test become overdue. This will include any cattle that are wild and aggressive and cannot be tested for reasons of health and safety to the tester or welfare of the animal. Animals cannot be retested for 60 days after injection with tuberculin.

12. From 1 April 2023 for any herd located in the specifically allocated spatial units or clusters in the Low and Intermediate TB areas of Wales, all CON (but not CON6 or CON12), 6M and 12M tests must be interpreted at severe interpretation. The Work Schedule for the relevant test in the affected herds will have the interpretation preselected at Severe.