just heard on the welsh news that bluetounge has been found on sheep imported from france,these were imported to somewhere in england did not say where,just a question why import from a country that is in an epidemic with the disease,

 http://www.fwi.co.uk/Articles/2008/08/27/111814/bluetongue-found-in-sheep-imported-from-france.html

 Just what we didn't want to hear.

Why are sheep being imported at all? Surely there are enough of the little blummers in this country already!

...and now we hear there's a possible case in south Devon.

Should we be importing these animals?

Definitely shouldn't be importing livestock this year, particularly with the vaccine not completely rolled out yet.  I would have thought it would have been better to get everything vaccinated in this country before even thinking about it.

More conversation about this in Talking Point: http://www.fwi.co.uk/community/forums/first-uk-bluetongue-outbreaks-of-the-summer-20754.aspx

Bluetounge would probably have reached the UK this year anyway but why on earth did some people feel the need to hurry its arrival by importing sheep and cattle from areas known to be infected! Were those imports really worth it. This really shows no consideration at all. Lets just hope the disease hasn't managed to get into the local midge populations. Every extra bluetounge free day is vital to those still trying to vaccinate. The rule about allowing free movement between different countries protection zones is ludicrous.

We need to ponder. Are these bluetongue infected animals (sheep/cattle) symptomatic or a-symptomatic? The Bluetongue vaccine does not prevent infection, only reduces/prevents symptoms? Hence these 'cases' may be in vaccinated animals. Vaccinated animals will have a virus load, although lower than in sick animals. The virus is transmitted from mother to offspring and so ultimately all national herds are likely to become BTV positive. I suspect there are many BTV positive animals showing no symptoms here in the UK already.

"The damage has been done through poor import policy ..."

We don't have one - poor or otherwise. Imports are an EU competence. Member states who share the same BTV status as us, i.e PZ to the borders of Cumbria, and after monday September. 1st, to the Scottish border, have free trade with us. To 'ban' anything on any grounds is a power our politicians abdicated a long time ago.

Individual farmers, as in the Dutch veal farmers, may make a collective decision not to import. That is different from a country's  official  'ban'. And the farmers / dealers who imported these stock when vaccination has only just begun in continental Europe, is not completed and the virus is rampant, want their single collective brain cell examined. (IMHO of course)

MadCow666:

Individual farmers, as in the Dutch veal farmers, may make a collective decision not to import.

Here's a thought, why doesn't Farming UK make a collective decision NOT to import stock from Bluetongue infected countries? We can't moan about cost sharing from DEFRA if some farmers willingly import animals from areas with a known disease problem. 

These animals were imported legally and they were vaccinated. If the vaccine used was a 'killed' vaccine, as is the case in the UK, they would have achieved full immunity approximately two weeks after their vaccination (in cattle, two weeks after their second dose). They would not have BT, be sick or infectious.

The FWi article (http://www.fwi.co.uk/Articles/2008/0...-retested.html) mentions the test that detected BT in the imported cattle as the PCR test. This test detects viral genetic material rather than antibodies.

However its interpretation needs to be done carefully. Here is an extract from a document on Warmwell which explained some of the many diagnostic techniques for BT, as well as a summary of the disease and an outline of how the live attenuated vaccine (not the 'dead' one in current use in the UK) might be made.http://www.warmwell.com/bluetongue.html

Further information is here - http://farmingforum.co.uk/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=28 and here - http://www.farmtalking.com/the_farm_bluetongue.html

'It has been observed that BTV nucleic acid can be detected by PCR from the blood of infected calves and sheep at least 30 days, and sometimes over 90 days, after the virus can be isolated. When blood that was positive for virus isolation (infectious) and blood that was negative for virus isolation but positive by PCR (PCR-detectable only) were inoculated into or fed to the vector, Culicoides sonorensis, it was shown that the virus was amplified and transmitted only by vectors exposed to infectious blood. Vectors exposed to PCR-detectable only blood did not amplify or transmit the BTV (23). Because of this, PCR-based diagnostics should be interpreted with caution. The PCR procedure will detect virus-specific nucleic acid, but this does not necessarily indicate the presence of infectious virus.'

I see on the defra website the most recent detections of BTV8 were on 14th november in a sheep in Gloucestershire, and 6 cattle in Dorset, all imported from France. Why import now? Why not wait for the vector free period, or make do with British stock.

Agreed,for legal reasons imports cant be banned.However,what agri depts in the UK can and should do is make sure that anyone importing livestock is subjected to a rigourous inspection and monitoring regime on a daily basis and including every aspect of their business for many weeks after an importation.

And if they can import sheep with BTV8 how long is it going to be before they manage to import sheep or cattle with BTV1 - for which strain there is as yet no vaccine in UK.  Not sure if there is any in France yet, but if you look at the maps its slowly and surely creeping up the west coast of France in our direction.

2583625:

And if they can import sheep with BTV8 how long is it going to be before they manage to import sheep or cattle with BTV1 - for which strain there is as yet no vaccine in UK.  Not sure if there is any in France yet, but if you look at the maps its slowly and surely creeping up the west coast of France in our direction.

 

Add to that someone will decide it's a good idea to import something with BT6 Holland or Germany

Sadly it doesn't seem to be a case of 'if', but 'when'.

So it's time to take a leaf out of the French book, stick 2 fingers up at EU rules and ban live animal imports to the whole of the UK 

Abso-bloomin-lutely! It's too risky to be importing at the moment.

Who said it's only a matter of time, to late http://www.farmersguardian.com/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=22851 

Don't you just love being in a common trading area we get to share all the good stuff.

If the dutch calf rearer can collectively say no imports why can't we. Do we need to for vigilante groups to go and "talk" to farmers that import stock from bluetongue areas in Europe or should we just find the odd hell raiser from the local estate and give them a lift out to the offending farms and happen to give them a box of matches. Not sure i should have said that out loud but last year everyone was wanting compencation from the govenmet for realesing FM from pirbright. I don't think we could get enough from these guys that keep importing so maybe a bit of a deterant is needed.  

There you go, I told you so! When will this issue be taken seriously? If it started costing the government more it would be........

Here's the latest news we have on the BTv1 outbreak: http://www.fwi.co.uk/Articles/2008/11/26/113261/six-cattle-culled-as-bluetongue-type-one-btv1-is-found-in-lancashire.html

More follows as we get it.

I assume that those farmers who can afford all the expense to import cattle must be reasonable business men and therefore blessed with more than one brain cell. Given that there have been several problems with imported cattle of late inspite of vaccination, would you not apply that brain cell to the situation and conclude that the risk is just too great? Why go to greater expense and restrictions? Why heap approbrium upon yourself and your business? It doesn't matter  that "it is all perfectly legal". You import something nasty that you know is in the country of origin, you really do need that brain cell examining!

i presumme the brain cell was bypassed while the profit was being calculated.

don't you wish you could go back to the day's when 'blue tongue' was something you got when you sucked the wrong smartie !

Brain cell? Wallet more like!