Bluetongue in decline across Europe

The UK is close to eradicating bluetongue and the disease is on the wane across the rest of Europe, according to latest figures from the European Commission.

Over the last three years, livestock keepers across the EU have been engaged in a rigorous programme of BTV prevention, which has been conducted through a regime of vaccination and careful movement of animals.

Figures released by the European Commission on 28 Oct show the number of cases of different serotypes of BTV across the EU this year were as follows:

BTV 1:        Spain 36 cases, Italy 4, Portugal 2, France 1
BTV 2:        Italy 12
BTV 4:        Italy 2, Spain 2
BTV 8:        Italy 2 (both near French border)
BTV 9:        Italy 3
BTV 16:      Greece 2

Scotland’s leading livestock organisations have reacted positively to the news.

They said with continued vigilance, disease-free status for Scotland and the rest of Great Britain was realistic while eradication of the disease in Europe was a distinct possibility.  

But representatives of NFU Scotland, the Scottish Beef Cattle Association, the National Beef Association and the National Sheep Association renewed their call to Scottish livestock keepers to maintain their voluntary ban on importing stock from BTV-infected areas.

NFU Scotland’s vice-president, Nigel Miller said: “The vast reduction in the number of cases of BTV-8 in Europe is little short of miraculous, although the reporting of such cases may not be entirely accurate.  That said, the future does still look good and livestock producers are still emphatically advised to stay safe and import animals only when it is safe to do so.”