More bluetongue cases found in Northern Ireland

A further two suspected cases of bluetongue virus have been identified in County Down, taking the number of suspected infected premises to four.

The additional cases on a second farm near Greyabbey were identified as the National Reference Laboratory verified the presence of the bluetongue virus (BTV) in the initial Greyabbey case and on a farm near Bangor.

See also: Live cattle barred from NI winter fair as bluetongue spreads

Movement of susceptible animals on or off farms in the two Temporary Control Zones (TCZ) is prohibited, while moves direct to slaughter are permitted under a general licence available on the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) website.

However, following veterinary assessment of the latest suspect case, Daera has decided that further extension of the TCZ is not required.

NI farming minister Andrew Muir said: “The emergence of a fourth suspect case during surveillance testing is disappointing, but will not come as a surprise given the scale of the testing undertaken by the department.”

Chief veterinary officer Brian Dooher added: “Following the decision to relax restrictions on the movement of animals to Saintfield Market [from Tuesday 16 December], veterinary officials are continuing to work with industry and with our counterparts in other jurisdictions to relieve the restrictions on non-infected premises in the TCZ, while also working with those who have had infections.”

Stay alert

Mr Muir added that while winter weather reduced midges’ ability to spread the virus, it was essential that farmers and vets familiarised themselves with the symptoms and remained alert over the coming months for any clinical signs of the disease.

BTV poses no human health risk or food safety concern, but it does affect cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, deer, llamas and alpacas.

Suspected outbreaks in NI must be reported immediately to the farm vet, the local Divisional Veterinary Office, or the Daera helpline on 0300 200 7840.

GB cases

There have been 249 cases of bluetongue in Great Britain since July 2025, including 230 cases in England (222 cases of BTV-3, one case of BTV-8, and seven cases with both BTV-3 and BTV-8 present).

Wales has recorded 19 cases of BTV-3, while Scotland has recorded no cases so far.