With midges already active, the Met Office predicting a warmer summer than last year, and the situation on the Continent remaining uncertain, conditions for the spread of bluetongue may be ideal.
If they have not already, livestock keepers should take this opportunity to vaccinate their animals as soon as possible. They can take advantage of buying their vaccine at a discounted price, before the government stocks are no longer available.
Huge credit should be given to farmers in the East and South of England for acting responsibly and vaccinating their herds and flocks last year. Vaccine uptake was high reaching between 80% and 90% in these areas, and their actions helped to ensure we did not see any cases of disease in the UK last year. They need to be encouraged to continue to vaccinate this year.
We would urge all livestock holders to monitor their stock on a regular basis for signs of infection. There is a legal requirement for livestock holders to report all cases of bluetongue infection on their premises. This reporting requirement is crucial to enable Defra to detect disease and any new midge-transmission from the continent or re-emergence of disease or vaccine breakdown during 2009.
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