Devon Support Group                

FLASH NEWS - PLEASE VACCINATE YOUR ANIMALS ASAP

The bluetongue vaccine is now in the UK and as of 1st May 2008 the vaccine is being used in large parts of the county, including Devon

GIven that things will move very fast from no on, please contact your vet if you have sheep, cattle of goats and order your vaccine. The notes below are now out of date, but will give guidance on general information on the disease and who to contact for further info. Good luck and get vaccinating as soon as you can

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This Q&A document has been complied by Richard Barker, having attended a half day meeting in Jan which he has summarised as a series of questions and answers - from the Defra and other speakers. Extra bits have been added as time has gone on, from vets, the NFU, via RBST HQ, Farmers weekly and Farmers Guardian and from DEFRA. They are in Richard's own words so cannot be taken as definitive - for the Defra words of wisdom please click here. Changes shown to the Q&A below in green were done when last update on 8th, 10th and 14th March 2008

Q. What is Bluetongue?
A. Blue Tongue Virus (BTV) is a notifiable disease and is transmitted to animals via the Cullicodes midge species. Blue tongue virus can infect domestic and wild ruminants (sheep, cattle, goats and deer and camelids). 

Q. If I think some of my animals have Bluetongue does it have to be reported?
A. Bluetongue has to be reported - but looks like a lot of other things (e.g. foot and mouth, New Forest Eye, Orf ... Photographs are useful)

Q. OK, so what does Bluetongue look like?
A. Try this link for images of sheep and cattle and also for some things that are not Bluetongue (this is a large pdf file - please be patient)
And for cattle
Also check out some of the links below

Q. Will we get Bluetongue in our area?
A. Bluetongue will get everywhere in the South West and across England and Wales.. And then we will have to live with it every year thereafter. The type is BTV8.

Q. What animals can get Bluetongue?
A. Cattle get it and act as the main reservoir for the midges to pass it on, but it does not effect them as badly as sheep
Sheep get it easily, and can suffer up to 70% mortality
Goats and deer also get it.
Cattle are the priority as infected ones are the main reservoir and higher economic value
Sheep are next, as they get it really badly

Q Can Bluetongue be transmitted between animals?
A. BTV cannot normally be transmitted directly between animals, although mechanical transmission, through the use of contaminated hypodermic needles and surgical equipment is possible. It is transmitted to animals via the Cullicodes midge species, with cattle being the main reservoir. However, it is now thought that the disease can be passed from mother to a new born calf. 'The new discovery into transmission routes of the disease came after the cow imported to Northern Ireland from Holland had tested negative for the disease, but gave birth to infected calves 30 days later.' according to Farmers Guardian 03 / 08

Q. After they recover what is the effect?
A. The animals may be infertile or have lower fertility for anything up to a year. See links for other details

Q. What can we do about it?
A. The only viable defence is vaccination - that being developed is 'not a live vaccine', to avoid mutation, and licensing includes proof of effectiveness
Defra and the EU recommend 100% vaccination, and need 80% to 85% to control it

Q. Can I vaccinate my animals? And when? And what will it cost?
A. Only animals inside a zone can be vaccinated - EU rules
According to the NFU, Defra have published how much the bluetongue vaccine will cost.  The on-farm cost is likely to be £27.50 - £33.00 for the 50ml bottles (i.e. 55-66p per ml) and around £16.35 - £19.65 for the 20ml bottles (i.e. 82-98p per ml), plus VAT in order to cover the overhead, handling and administration charges throughout the distribution process. The exact dosing rates are currently being finalised and will be announced shortly (likely to be 1 x 1ml for sheep and 2 x 1ml or 2 x 2ml for cattle). (Goats can be done off data sheet)

Once the vaccine is available it can be purchased through your local veterinary practice.  Members are encouraged to contact their local vet to inform them the amount of vaccine they are likely to need, to help with planning.

The intention is to vaccinate everything quickly within the zone, then extend the zone and vaccinate, and so on, until the whole country (probably) will be in the zone.
So in the South West we are in the zone and be able to vaccinate in our turn hopefully during the early summer of 2008

Q Can the animals get long term immunity?
A. A vet reported after a meeting that they hope that 3 years of vaccination will give long term immunity - but that is only for the BTV8 strain. (There are around 24 serotypes of bluetongue!

Q. Who pays for the vaccine?
A. Cost will be borne by farmers was the first position, however the EU are offering to pay the cost of the vaccine but not the cost of applying it, which can be done by farmers. However, the UK has not applied for the funding, as the EU claims the UK strategy will not ensure mass vaccination and therefore does not qualify. Also, the UK’s rebate means that little money would be available if the UK did apply and the money would also have a number of conditions attached, which Defra claim would slow down the vaccination process. So check the news for this -it might change

Q. Tell me a bit more about the vaccine
A. Vaccine takes about 2 weeks to take effect
There will be no withdrawal period for the vaccine
Vaccine expected to give defence to offspring for three months, therefore annual vaccination may be good for pregnant ewes
Young stock will probably need vaccination from age of three months
Vaccination is 100% recommended but will not be enforced nor policed due to the cost of policing. It will be enforced in most European countries
No plans to vaccinate deer - but they can catch it
Vaccination outside zones is not allowed - as if tested would look like an infection
Vaccine will only be available via the vets
Hopefully the vaccine might be included in other jabs that we regularly give our animals in the future - but no plans yet and there would have to be extensive tests to assure no cross reaction between vaccines

Q. If I get Bluetongue on my farm will someone come and cull my animals?
A. No animal that gets the disease will be culled

Q. Is there anything I can do to minimise the effect on my animals?
A. It might help to get infected animals out of the sun, give them soft bedding, easily digestible and taken food, and treat bad ones for secondary infections. This is based on farming practice in Europe and in Africa
Delaying shearing of sheep would probably be sensible where possible as the fleece appears to give some protection against midges
A vet advised people with valuable animals to consider dipping/ topical treatment/housing as appropriate  or possible until they can be vaccinated

Q. Given sheep have wool, how do they get it?
A. Sheep get bitten on their bellies and legs, a dip 'might' help reduce incidence (and make farmer feel happier that they are doing something before a vaccine available)

Q. Tell me more about the after effects?
A. Fertility in sheep, in particular rams, can drop dramatically but is thought to recover after 9 to 12 months.
Fertility, milk etc also affected in cattle
Animals who have had the disease will not be carriers - though now thought that perhaps a very small percentage (<1%) might be, as the disease reappears each year and it is not known how
Any that do get it badly may need treating for secondary infections, but the main thing they need is tender loving care as they often cannot move or feed

Q. What happens about movements of animals across zones, in the UK and EU?
A. Animals can be moved within zones. After the zones have been extended then movements can go on within new boundaries including to and from similar zones on mainland Europe

Q. Can animals ever be moved out of the Bluetongue zone into a non-zone? And how?
A. At certain times of the year the midge activity may be nil and Defra may allow licensed movement. For example in January 2008 this is being permitted. When it is permitted, animals in a zone can be moved after testing - cost £2.95 plus vets costs (say about £20 - £25 inclusive). There is a second type of test which is more expensive, but gives quicker results ~ £20 + vets cost..
To do the movement you need more paper work, including a licence which you can download from the Defra web site

Q. What about goats?
A. Goats should be treated like sheep - off data sheet as no economics in testing vaccines for goats

Q. What was the experience in Mainland Europe?
A. The figures for Northern European countries is of a few outbreaks in year one followed by hundreds or thousands in year 2, hopefully we can prevent this year by 100% vaccination

Q. What is the RBST position on Bluetongue?
A. Click here

Q. Where else can I get information on Bluetongue?
A. The best thing is to use Google and search on 'Bluetongue' or 'Bluetongue images'
Here are some links that might help
Defra
British Veterinary Association
Sheep Veterinary Association
RBST HQ

Q. What about rare breeds?
A. I asked one of the presenters (from Defra I believe) about Rare Breeds and at risk breeds - i.e. could we vaccinate them as a priority as they are the gene bank we require if the industry really gets hit?
He said they could not break the rules as could not track them
I said "most of these are with pedigree breeders who track animals (even sheep) individually, so could see no problem if vaccination was restricted to those that could prove traceability"
He thought that might be viable

Q Where did this information come from?

A. This is based on a report from a meeting held on Bluetongue - Jan 2008 in Exeter, and subsequent updates from the NFU / DEFRA

Last updated 8th March 2008