Bluetongue Update

Bluetongue Update 13 June 2011

The Minister of State has announced today that GB (England, Scotland and Wales) will declare Freedom from BTV8 on Tuesday July 5th 2011. From this date it will NOT be legal to use vaccine in UK and animals moving out of GB will be free to do so without vaccination.
The last case of BTV in GB was in 2008 and we are able to show 2 years of freedom by surveillance.
It had been hoped that the EU rules would have changed before now to allow vaccination in the Free Area but this change is not expected in the close future and the best way to protect our livestock is by declaring freedom so that ruminants coming from Restricted Areas have to comply with the rules. This will make overseas trade simpler for us. Hungary, Denmark, Sweden, and Austria have declared freedom already and it is likely that other more northern member states will do the same as soon as they can show 2 years of freedom (later this summer for some).
Vaccination has been very successful against BTV so that the virus has been removed from Northern Europe. Various strains persist around the Mediterranean and will continue to do so. BTV may not have gone for good and BTV 8 may not be the main threat any longer. There is not perceived to be enough virus circulating in Europe for a windborne incursion to occur and the risk from imported livestock is low. Imports to UK will still be checked for BTV on a risk basis.
There are now a considerable number of BTV vaccines on the market and bivalent ones. Defra will continue to press the EU to allow vaccination in the free area. When this becomes legal Defra will advise the industry if the risk level alters and vaccination against a strain would be wise.
BTV is a Notifiable Disease in the EU and Member States have to report cases to the EU. There has been a rumour that France was not reporting cases because the virus was endemic this is NOT correct.
Duff Burrell
07764409027