Apha targets bluetongue testing backlog with new system

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (Apha) expects to clear its bluetongue testing backlog within 10 days after introducing a new reporting system designed to relieve pressure on laboratories.

Under the system, which comes into force on Friday (11 September), vets in England who have examined livestock and are confident clinical signs are consistent with bluetongue can report cases online without routinely submitting blood samples.

See also: New bluetongue map shows where virus is most active

Deputy chief veterinary officer Ele Brown told vets at a webinar on Thursday (10 September): “We’re in the thick of an epidemic here.

“We need to look at the processes and adapt our processes accordingly.

“Cases are still rising because of this massive plume of infection that we’re seeing through the midge-borne disease.

“So it’s right that we look for other ways to enable vets to report in cases.”

There have now been 1,048 confirmed BTV-3 cases – defined as premises with at least one positive animal – in the 2026-27 season, including 916 in England, 111 in Wales and 21 in Scotland.

A further 2,046 potential cases are currently under investigation across Great Britain.

Apha veterinary director Irene Cristofaro added: “We are catching up on the backlog, so we aim to clear it up within the next 10 days.”

Confidence in system

Apha said more than 90% of samples were testing positive, giving it sufficient confidence to confirm bluetongue clinically.

Cases will be confirmed as bluetongue rather than BTV-3 because the serotype cannot be established without laboratory testing.

Existing telephone reporting and testing routes remain available where vets are uncertain and the new system is not available for vets in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.

Through the use of the new system, Apha aims to confirm digitally reported cases to vets and livestock keepers within four working hours following automated and quality assurance checks.

Currently, farmers and vets have been waiting for as long as five weeks to receive confirmation of a positive BTV-3 blood sample test.

National Sheep Association chief executive Phil Stocker welcomed the move, but cautioned “confirmed numbers are likely to rise as the process speeds up, and that will reflect faster confirmation as well as spread”.

“Vaccination remains the best protection, so speak to your vet now,” he added.

FMD safeguards

Concerns were raised during the briefing that foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) could be overlooked amid the volume of bluetongue cases.

Dr Cristofaro stressed: “The testing for bluetongue is not a way to exclude foot-and-mouth.

“If you suspect foot-and-mouth, you have to report the suspect of foot-and-mouth, and we will follow the foot-and-mouth route because it’s a different disease.”

The new online reporting form for bluetongue includes safeguards covering the speed of disease spread, illness in pigs, and whether cattle are more severely affected than sheep.

Any responses raising concern will automatically stop the digital process and instruct vets to contact Apha.

Dr Brown said vets’ observations remained critical to detecting FMD early.

“Absolutely, we’re still concerned about FMD,” she said. “If you take home a message, it is that your views when you’re on farm are really key [to] finding FMD early.”