Archived News

12th March 2008

The Bluetongue vector-free period ends at 23:59 on March 15th.  The vector free period has been in place since December 20th when falling temperatures and declining midge numbers led DEFRA to determine that the risk of disease spread was lower.   It has allowed farmers to move cattle and sheep (subject to pre-movement testing) out of the Bluetongue restriction zones and into the free area. 

In order for Bluetongue virus to multiply inside the midges, the outside temperature needs to be above 15 C .  It is thought that weather patterns will become more suitable for the virus to multiply in midges after March 15^th.

From 16^th March no bluetongue susceptible animals can move out of the restricted zone unless licensed direct to slaughter, moving only after dawn and before dusk, or if they are naturally immune, with a test to prove this. 

In a terrible nightmare, Bluetongue (serotype 8) is just around the corner. We are standing on the edge of a precipice and could either topple off the edge, or if all goes well, we can pull back from the brink.

The Government has placed an order for 22.5m doses of vaccine from Intervet, the first 2m of which should be ready in May.  Farmers will buy the vaccines from local vets.

The vaccine will only be available in the Protection Zone to begin with and it is vitally important for every livestock farmer to contact his vet now, to register the number of cattle and sheep he has and place an order.  Sheep will need one dose and cattle will need two doses, 28 days apart. 

Professor Philip Mellor, head of bluetongue research at the Institute of Animal Health, said: "In essence we have a once-only opportunity to eliminate the virus from the UK before it devastates our ruminant industry as it has already done on the near continent in 2007."

At about £1 per dose this will be a small price for farmers to pay, to protect their own livestock and of course the industry as a whole.

The Dutch experience shows that at least 80-90 percent of livestock must be vaccinated to prevent Bluetongue from getting a hold.  We must all do our bit to help prevent this disaster in the UK.

So, to stop us from falling over the precipice we need each and every farmer in the PZ (initially), to take the opportunity to vaccinate livestock as soon as vaccines become available. Let’s hope the vaccines are no later than May.

Kevin Pearce, National Farmers Union head of food policy says that speed is of the essence and we have to move fast to get in front of the virus.