Blue Tongue Information

[AIRGUNNER 1]

Government vets have confirmed bluetongue disease is circulating in the UK and is now classed as an outbreak.

 

What is bluetongue disease?

 

It is a non-contagious virus spread by a species of midge and is most commonly seen in the late summer and autumn.

 

All ruminants, such as cattle, goats, deer and sheep, are susceptible, although symptoms are generally most severe in sheep.

 

Signs of the disease in species vary, but key indicators include a high fever, excessive salivation, swelling of the head and neck, lameness and sometimes discolouration of the tongue.

 

According to the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), in some susceptible breeds of sheep up to 70% of a flock can die from the virus.

 

Animals that survive the disease can suffer long-term damage, such as a reduction in meat and wool production.

 

The virus does not affect humans.

 

How is it spread?

 

It is passed on by midges. After a midge bites an infected animal, the midge passes the infection on by biting an uninfected animal.

 

Bluetongue cannot be transmitted directly between animals.

 

However, Defra says it cannot rule out transmission of the virus between livestock by unhygienic practices, such as using contaminated surgical equipment or hypodermic needles.

 

How far can the midges travel?

 

Defra says initial studies have found that a midge can travel approximately 1.5km (1 mile) to 2km (1.2 miles) day.

 

However, in certain weather, midges can be carried much further, especially over water masses - up to 200km (124 miles).

 

Such distances vary according to local environmental, topographical and meteorological conditions, Defra says.

 

Will infected animals be culled?

 

Because bluetongue is spread by insects, Defra says compulsory slaughter of infected livestock would not normally be carried out.

 

However, the first five infected animals in Suffolk were killed and tests conducted to determine whether bluetongue had spread to other animals.

 

Government deputy chief vet Fred Landeg has ruled out a cull because the disease cannot be passed from animal to animal and it would not help stamp it out.

 

Where has the disease been found?

 

Bluetongue was first discovered in South Africa but has since been found in most countries in the tropics and sub-tropics.

 

Since August 2006, the virus has been found in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and northern France.

 

There have also been outbreaks of different strains of the disease in Greece, Italy, Corsica and the Balearic Islands since 1998.

 

Cases have also occurred in Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia and Yugoslavia.

 

This is the first outbreak of the disease in the UK.

 

What restrictions are being placed on British farmers?

 

A 20km (12.4 miles) control zone is put in place around affected premises. The zone now includes parts of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire.

 

Ruminant animals can move within the zone, but not out of it, except to slaughter in the wider protection zone which now extends approximately 400km (249 miles) from Lincolnshire to Sussex.

 

Farmers within the protection zone cannot transport livestock beyond the zone boundaries.

Edited February 14, 2008 by AIRGUNNER