First Milk Home

Much has been written in the media in recent months about the Bluetongue virus but misunderstandings are still rife throughout the industry. StraightTalk asked the man ‘in the know’ NFU’s Chief Dairy Adviser Tom Hind to spell out the facts for our members.

Bluetongue virus (BTV) is a disease that affects all ruminants including cattle and sheep. So far there have been 66 confirmed cases in Britain, but many thousands in France, Holland, Germany and Belgium, where BTV first appeared in 2006. Based on the experiences of mainland Europe, the impact of the disease in the UK could be worse in 2008 than it was last autumn.

Mortality in sheep can be high while in cattle, the disease often leads to abortions, short-term infertility and loss of milk yield as well as more severe symptoms such as emaciation. Initial symptoms range from nasal discharge to coronitis and udder-swelling.

There is no direct transmission between livestock; the disease is spread by midges which makes it very difficult to control. Movement restrictions form the first line of defence by preventing the risk of infected animals moving into free areas and spreading the disease to uninfected midges. The restricted zones are very large with a minimum 100km Protection Zone and minimum 50km Surveillance Zone and animal movements out of these zones are prohibited except under licence conditions that only apply during the winter when midges are less active.

Because the disease has been rife across northern Europe, dairy farmers in particular need to be very vigilant when looking to import stock and indeed should avoid importing livestock from the affected areas altogether.

The future control strategy for the disease rests on the deployment of a vaccine which is being developed by several companies. Defra has moved faster than other EU countries to order 22.5 million doses that should be delivered in May. Discussions are currently taking place with Defra as to how the vaccine will be administered, but it is very likely that livestock farmers in the Protection Zone will be compelled to vaccinate cattle and sheep to dampen down the risks of the disease exploding in the UK as it did elsewhere in Europe in 2007.

Further detailed information on detection, mitigation measures and movement restrictions can be found on the Defra website at:
www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/notifiable/bluetongue/index.htm

First Milk Membership Director Alan Taylor added: “Tackling BTV effectively will require a responsible attitude from the entire industry including Government, vets and farmers to avoid this disease having an even more serious impact. First Milk will work with the appropriate agencies to ensure our members are kept informed of the latest developments.”