19/09/2024
Cases of Bluetongue (BTV-3), a new strain of a notifiable disease which has been circulating in Europe this year, have been confirmed in farms in Suffolk and Norfolk. The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) identified the disease through Great Britain’s annual bluetongue surveillance programme.
The affected ram was culled to reduce the risk of onward disease transmission and a temporary control zone was set up around the affected farm, which restricts the movement of cattle, sheep, camelids and other ruminants. This is a rapidly changing situation, and unfortunately further cases have been identified leading to the conclusion that local transmission is occurring. This has upgraded the controls to put a Restricted Zone in place around Norfolk and Suffolk
The virus does not affect people or food safety. BTV is transmitted by midge bites and affects cows, goats, sheep, camelids and other ruminants. The midges are most active between April and November. Another possible reason for disease spread can be through an infected imported animal.
Sheep are more likely to show obvious clinical signs of Bluetongue than cattle. Signs include:
- Ulcers in mouth / nose and consequent discharges and drooling.
- Swelling of lips/ tongue / coronary band (where the leg skin meets the hoof) leading to lameness.
- The BTV-3 strain has unfortunately caused severe disease in sheep on the continent.
Lambs and calves can become infected with the virus before they are born, resulting in them being born small, weak, deformed or being born dead (still births).
The situation is concerning, it shows that routine veterinary surveillance to identify potential disease risks is working and appropriate action has been taken to try and safeguard animals in the area.
With cattle acting as midge magnets (large and smelly animals) their relative robustness to infection and lack of obvious signs can lead to a false sense of security in areas where the much more vulnerable sheep are uncommon. The risk is that cattle in East Anglia may be attracting and infecting midges that then blow across to the rest of the country on easterly winds. Hence the restriction zone and the surveillance efforts now in place across the country. We clearly cannot control wind direction or midge movements. So, our best protection in the medium to long term is through vaccination, which worked so effectively in 2008 with BTV-8. Although a vaccine for this strain of BTV-3 has been produced and used on the continent, its supply is severely limited there, and it is currently not licensed or available in the UK.
We should avoid bringing in stock from the East of the country. We can try putting vulnerable animals in our most exposed windiest fields. We should look out for signs of bluetongue in our stock and report them if we are suspicious.
Founded in the early 1880's Castle Vets has been providing care for Farm animals in the Launceston area for over 100 years.
