20 August 2008 ~ Bluetongue Protection Zone will be extended into Northumberland and Cumbria "shortly", says DEFRA.

Defra website: "... However, this will not happen before 1 September unless the re-emergence of circulating disease requires it..... . This will complete the vaccination roll-out by bringing the whole of England into the Protection Zone. .... Livestock keepers in the areas coming into the Protection Zone will be able to obtain the vaccine from the time they become part of the Zone; however, they are encouraged to order vaccine in advance through their vet. ....Animals can only be moved out of the Protection Zone if they are vaccinated, naturally immune or moving for slaughter, subject to meeting certain conditions." Read in full - and see also Farmers Guardian

20 August 2008 ~" the north of England and Scotland may well be hit harder by bluetongue disease.."

Writing in reaction to the NFUS call to halt vaccination in the north of England, Dr James Irvine of Land-Care.org (www.land-care.org.uk)
"......Surely there was a window of some 3 months or more in the summer when vaccination could have been carried out with minimal disruption to trade. This, accompanied by a derogation that no livestock were to be imported into Scotland until compulsory vaccination had been effectively completed, would have seen Scotland safe from bluetongue serotype 8.
But vaccine was not ordered early enough and there was no derogation forthcoming from the EC. Endless delays in Scotland ordering its 12 million doses have contributed, along with the absurdity of the EC rules, to the incredible situation whereby NFUS Scotland is seeking, in the interests of trade, to halt further vaccination in England. The risk is, of course, that the north of England and Scotland may well be hit harder by bluetongue disease than elsewhere in England or in Wales. But clearly NFU Scotland is hoping to get way with it. That is not the way to logically control the spread of such a dire disease as bluetongue." Read in full
See also last November's warmwell blog entry when we recalled Debby Reynolds' brave and wholly wrong opinion in 2006 about the risk from bluetongue and saw a sad similarity with Scotland's stance.

20 August 2008 ~ First Swiss case in 2008 - in an unvaccinated sheep

A case of bluetongue in the Jura canton of Switzerland was diagnosed in an unvaccinated sheep yesterday - showing, says www.admin.ch (french) - "that the vaccination campaign in progress since June is vital.....most of the cattle, sheep and goat population of our country has been vaccinated. The cases found in unvaccinated animals demonstrate the risk: infection is widespread and that without vaccination, the number of cases would be much higher."

18 August 2008 ~ Wales: "Farmers who intend to take their animals to sales in the current disease-free areas of Scotland and northern England are advised to move them before the end of August "

Dr Christianne Glossop is quoted in the Swansea Evening Post, warning that since the declaration of the protection zone in Wales is imminent - unlikely before the end of August but "the situation could change quickly" - farmers who want to move animals into the last remaining free areas should not get caught out by the declaration of the new PZ in Wales.
She added: "My message continues to be to farmers that they must prepare to vaccinate. There must be no complacency. There have been some 4,000 new cases of bluetongue in northern Europe in the past few weeks ,and we must remember that the first case of bluetongue in the UK last year occurred in September. This is a period of high risk for the disease." (Moving animals from one free area to another through a PZ is still allowed as long as movements conform to the licence regulations EXD467(BT)(E) Version 4 pdf. )

16 August 2008 ~ five new cases in the north of the Netherlands confirmed yesterday

See Reuters. "...The Dutch Agriculture Ministry urged farmers to vaccinate their goats, sheep and cattle against the bluetongue livestock disease after confirming five new cases in the north of the Netherlands on Friday. All five infected animals were sheep that had not been vaccinated against the virus ...."

16 August 2008 ~ "....the challenge is really to try and persuade Scotland to speed up its vaccination programme so that everyone is in the same zone as quickly as possible...."

Daelnet.co.uk reported on Thursday that the message from the North East and North West NFU in response to Scotland's wish for the vaccination programme to be halted in Northern England until after the Autumn sales "make no sense at all” The North East regional livestock board chairman and Rochester farmer, Malcolm Corbett is quoted
"With only Northumberland and Cumbria remaining outside the Bluetongue Protection Zone, it would mean imposing a ‘voluntary' border across Northern England – to the detriment of both farmers and auction marts. It would also put English farms at risk of contracting this very serious disease....There's no doubt that extending the Protection Zone up to the Scottish border will create havoc... However while it's true that animals would normally be moving to Scotland at this time of year, it's also true that others move south and it's unacceptable to contemplate moving large quantities of unvaccinated animals into areas where vaccination has already taken place. So the challenge is really to try and persuade Scotland to speed up its vaccination programme so that everyone is in the same zone as quickly as possible. As a matter of urgency we also need them to relax their restriction on the movement of animals over the border for slaughter. This is something they could do very quickly and would go some way to easing the situation."
NFU County Chairman for Cumbria, Russell Bowmen, said that as usual it would be farmers paying the price for administrative discord.
"It has been obvious for months - ever since Scotland announced its decision to impose a compulsory vaccination programme later this year - that we would have a period of time where cross-border trade would be severely compromised."
The article goes on to say how important it is for the two governments in England and Scotland to work together to try and resolve this situation "before our struggling livestock industry is hit with another financial hammer blow." Read article

15 August 2008 ~ NFU Scotland is calling for a halt in the bluetongue vaccination programme before it reaches the north of England..

.. because " ..traditional trade would be affected if the north of England is brought into the vaccination zone before the regular calf sales take place this autumn," said NFUS vice-president, Nigel Miller. FWi quotes Nigel Miller: "The planned vaccination programme in Scotland is not due to kick in until the vector-free period starts in mid-December unless bluetongue hits before then. We believe the time is right to review the continued roll-out of vaccine in England. If the current timetable in England is met, there would be significant implications for calf producers in Northumberland and Cumbria who have traditionally supplied Scottish finishers through the September and October sales. Halting vaccination in the north would strike a balance between the economic considerations of trade disruption against those of necessary disease control."

....We fully understand the Scottish view and the importance of cross-border trading, but there is an industry wide view that we stick to the roll out programme as vaccine becomes available."

15 August 2008 ~ "in contrast to the 2008 situation in continental Europe, no renewed BTV-8 circulation has been recorded on the British Isles so far..."

ProMed carries a statement from Simon Carpenter at Pirbright in response to ProMed's request for information about the vector free period. What Simon Carpenter of Pirbright says in his statement to ProMed is that what seem like new cases (that we have noted as mentioned on the DEFRA website - two discovered very recently) are actually "consistent with historic infection prior to the declaration of the VFP" - In other words, are positives where infection seems to date from 2007 - not this year. The moderator's comment expresses gratitude for the authoritative, first hand response from Dr Carpenter, and the comment concludes,
"...The advantages related to VPF declaration may deserve a short explanation. Trade in animals is restricted during the vector activity period because the introduction of viraemic animals into BTV-free areas will enable the establishment of virus circulation through the infection of vectors feeding on the introduced carrier animals. Only animals testing negative to infection are allowed movement. However, during the VFP, such restrictions and conditions are alleviated or discontinued, leading to significant economical benefits, benefits to trade, as well as to the animal welfare aspects related to such restrictions.
It remains to be seen whether the current favorable situation in Britain, namely the absence of BTV-8 circulation, prevails throughout 2008."
The full ProMed posting can be seen here.

15 August 2008 ~ The adjuvants present in Bluetongue vaccine can cause false positives on TB tests

The immune response they stimulate means that vaccine should not be administered at the time of first injection of tuberculin in order to avoid any risk of interference with the TB test. Although there does not seem to be anything about this on the Defra website (can anyone see a reference to bTB testing at the time of BT vaccination?) the Farmers Guardian quotes a Defra spokesperson: “It is not recommend that any medicines, including bluetongue vaccines, should be administered at the time of injection of tuberculin (your vet's first visit) in order to avoid any risk of interference with the TB test. No problems are expected with using medicines on the day of the reading of the skin test (your vet's second visit).”

15 August 2008 ~Sheep farmers are being advised not to use the vaccine within two weeks either side of tupping

The Farmers Guardian says "....Some vets have already sent letters to their farmers warning them that vaccinating within two weeks of putting a ram into a ewe, or from the planned tupping date, could render the vaccine ineffective."
Alasdair King, veterinary manager at Intervet, is quoted: "Our advice on the bluetongue vaccine is the same with any other vaccine - we would not advise using it within two weeks of mating."

14 August 2008 ~ "the need for a concerted effort from the livestock industry to reignite their interest in vaccination"

Some UK farmers, still unwilling or unsure whether to bother to vaccinate, seem unaware of the reality across the Channel. According to the French website gds18.org there have now been more than 4,000 new "cases" (we can only assume this means affected animals but would appreciate clarification) of Bluetongue - both strains 8 and 1 - reported in France in 2008. The French government are to be congratulated on their decision - not backed by the EU - to help finance both vaccinations in areas at risk in the South West of France. (Ministry pdf) - but there are still areas where vets have still not yet received vaccine and livestock owners are very anxious.
As one correspondent writes,
"It is amazing how BTV8 has taken off in France, perhaps the veterinary vaccination is too slow a method along with the limitations in the amount of vaccine, and the reporting is encouraged by compensation - and there was a lot of BTV8 infection there to start with... I am not clear how BTV1 vaccination is going..."
Whatever the reason for the huge numbers of cases in France, the sooner the whole of England and Wales becomes one Protection Zone the better.
As we reported on August 6th, Wales' Christianne Glossop says,
"The precise timing for the protection zone declaration is dependent upon when vaccine batches are available. This decision highlights the need for a concerted effort from the livestock industry to reignite their interest in vaccination....We are entering the period of highest risk of bluetongue....."
And on August 12 the Western Mail reported again on the Welsh Assembly Government's decision, ".... to extend the zone to the whole of Wales instead of opting for a gradual roll-out, county by county." Of vaccination, NFU Cymru president Dai Davies said "The alternative is unthinkable. I remain firmly of the view that we cannot afford not to vaccinate."
Meanwhile, Scotland is gambling on there being no immediate risk.

11 August 2008 ~ Defra: "As of 00.01 Monday 11 August 2008 the Protection Zone will be extended again...

...but not Cumbria. DEFRA says it will "cover the Counties of Durham and Tyne and Wear (Metropolitan Boroughs of Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland) and the Unitary Authorities of Hartlepool, Darlington, Stockton-on-Tees, Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland.... We will continue to expand the Protection Zone and to roll out vaccination to the free area as vaccine is delivered.... The additional vaccine is available for use in the existing Protection Zone from today." See Zone map from Monday 11th Aug.
There seems to be no reason forthcoming about why Cumbria continues to be excluded from the PZ . Others with less urgent need have been brought into the fold. How can farmers in the Lake District buy, sell and show their livestock - and what will happen if animals are not protected now that it is evident that new virus is on the move? It really does seem odd. As one well-informed farmer from Cumbria wrote on Saturday, "it will have devastating effects on overwintering prospects in Scotland if matters are not sorted out with some speed."

8 August 2008 ~ Why is the Lake District - with all its hill farms and sheep - still left out of the PZ?

DEFRA is to be congratulated on its efficient roll-out of vaccine. Now that nearly all English counties are included in the Protection Zone however, it is curious and worrying that Cumbria, (together with Durham, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear) is still left outside the protection zone. Farmers still don't know when they will be able to vaccinate and the chief worry is that the Autumn Sales will be disrupted for the second year running since last year's FMD virus escape at Pirbright led to disastrous movement restrictions over the whole country. Cumberland News says that the exclusion of Cumbria,
"effectively cuts Cumbria off from the most of the country, seriously limiting farmers on where they can buy, sell and show livestock."
The DEFRA site today reveals another case of Bluetongue, taking the total to 137 - but there is no official indication that this is new virus circulating - as it already is in Holland, Belgium, Germany and especially France.

7 August 2008 ~ 2008 virus in Holland

Agrarisch Dagblad says (our unofficial summary) "Bluetongue has been confirmed officially in the Netherlands - the first case this year. A young unvaccinated bullock in Staphorst had shown clinical signs. The central veterinary institute (CVI) of Wageningen has yet to confirm strain 8. Belgium and Germany have also new cases from virus circulating this yr."

6 August 2008 ~ All Wales to become PZ by the end of the month, it is hoped

We read in the Western Mail that Dr Christianne Glossop says,
"The precise timing for the protection zone declaration is dependent upon when vaccine batches are available. This decision highlights the need for a concerted effort from the livestock industry to reignite their interest in vaccination; the need to minimise the impact of bluetongue controls during the autumn trading season and to ensure the process is simple and easily understood.
We are entering the period of highest risk of bluetongue and, as midge populations become more active, the threat of virus circulation increases."
Read in full

5 August 2008 ~ Protection zone set to extend further on Thursday (August 7) after Merial delivered the first batch of its 13 million doses

The DEFRA website and the farming press report that
".. two further million doses of vaccine will be released and the PZ will extend to cover... parts of Shropshire, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, North Yorkshire and all of Lancashire and Merseyside... The Merial vaccine will only be available in 100ml bottles, at a cost of around £66.14- £79.36 a bottle (66-79p per dose) - around 10p a dose more expensive then the Intervet 50ml bottles currently available in the existing protection zone..."
Defra's roll-out plan will see vaccine gradually delivered to the free areas based on risk. See new zone map (new window). See Merial press release
The aim is that the PZ will eventually cover all of England and Wales. As long as farmers do vaccinate their animals, this is very good news for the UK and contrasts well with the situation in some parts of France for example which, although at risk, are still unable to protect their animals because their vets have not yet received vaccine. So far this year in France there have been 3,042 cases of BTv strain 8 outbreaks due to currently circulating virus and 15 new cases (outbreaks) of serotype 1. See (in french) gds18.org

1 August 2008 ~ The strain originates from sub-Saharan Africa

Professor Peter Mertens, who has researched the bluetongue virus for 25 years at the IAH, together with 24 co-authors from six different institutes have written a paper about their analysis of the full genome of the BTV strain currently in Northern Europe and their comparison of it to other BTV strains. (Maan et al. Sequence analysis of bluetongue virus serotype 8 from the Netherlands 2006 and comparison to other European strains. Virology, 2008; 377 (2): 308 DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2008.04.028) It would seem then that ".....Although NET2006/04 showed high levels of nucleotide identity with other ‘western' BTV strains, it represents a new introduction and was not derived from the BTV-8 vaccine, although its route of entry into Europe has not been established."

1 August 2008 ~ New EU -wide Bluetongue legislation comes into force today

The pdf file can be seen here (new window) The wording is, as usual, anything but easy to follow. The main concern is that animals being moved from one place to another .must have been protected against attacks by the vector Culicoides "In addition, at least one of the conditions set out in points 1 to 7 must be complied with....."

31 July, 2008 ~ Current situation in France

The green area of SW France is now aware of both strain 8 and strain 1 circulating. (UPDATE In parts at least of this green area, we discover, many veterinary surgeries have not received vaccine supplies - even though the risk is now from two strains.)
Below it, the pink area has only strain 1 so far. According to the french website http://gds18.org/ACTUALITE/ACTUFCO.html
(our unofficial translation) "New cases of Bluetongue strain 8 (i.e.circulating this year) have been confirmed in the departments of Aisne, Doubs, Maine and Loire, Vienne and Haute-Vienne - resulting in an extension of the protection zone. The confirmation of 4 new cases of Bluetongue strain 1 (2 in the Atlantic Pyrenees and 2 in les Landes) located in the heart of the existing PZ do not require any modification of zoning. Cases on these 4 new premises where animals had positive results had either not been vaccinated or had been vaccinated but not yet achieved immune status.
6020 cases have been detected in the first semester of 2008 related to virus circulating last year in 2007 .
1868 cases of BTV8 are related to virus circulating this year, in 2008. 9 new cases of BTV1 also resulting from virus circulating 2008. (There were 15,569 cases of Bluetongue detected in France in 2007 - including 3 case of serotype 1)
news.xinhuanet.com reports that departmental officials in the department of Allier (Central France) are planning to allocate 172,500 euros to help Bluetongue affected farmers in their department. We have not yet seen any confirmation of this

31 July, 2008 ~ vaccination programme "at risk of becoming a victim of its own success": Peter Morris

Joanne Pugh's article in the Farmers Guardian today quotes Peter Morris, chief executive of the National Sheep Association, who has warned farmers against becoming complacent.
"Although the vaccination programme had been a ‘fantastic success' so far, with a ‘phenomenal' uptake of around 85 per cent within the Protection Zone, that did not mean there was a big enough firewall for farmers in the north not to inject stock..."
He said that there are "difficult decisions" to be made now that "all the counties in the PZ were covered" since, if there was an outbreak outside the PZ, in uncovered Cumbria for example, there would not be enough vaccine available at short notice. Chris Oura advises farmers in the PZ not to move unvaccinated stock close to the edge of the PZ, presumably since this could, if midges carrying disease move with them, jeopardise the free zone. Mr Morris echoed our own concern about Scotland's not being able to vaccinate until the Autumn. This raises the ever important question - is the fear of losing trade really more important than the risk of spreading the disease? (In terms of the future of farming if Bluetongue really gets a hold, we would say definitely not - but in the short term one can understand, as Mr Morris does himself, the frustration caused by movement restrictions.) Read the FG article.

July 28 2008 ~ " potentially very damaging to Scotland's livestock, let alone livestock throughout the EU...".

www,land-care.org.uk
"..... Current EC rules continue to insist that there must be free trade of livestock between all Bluetongue Disease Protection Zones .... Previously the authorities argued that the risk of Scotland getting bluetongue disease this summer was small, because of the relatively slow rate at which midges are thought to travel via the wind. All that assurance comes to naught when free movements of infected livestock could shortly bring the virus to the Scottish border .... Worse still, the policy adopted by Defra for Bluetongue vaccination is that it is done on a voluntary basis, with the latest batches of vaccine supplied in 100 ml bottles. There is no way of knowing for sure what the effective uptake of the vaccination programme in England actually is.
Even worse again, when Scotland does get a supply of vaccine, as soon as the first dose is given to a single animal a Protection Zone will be declared. It takes two doses and two months for vaccination to be fully effective in cattle....."
Read in full. Dr Irvine links to the NBA petition asking urgently for a derogation to prevent the movement of livestock into areas until vaccination has a chance of being effective.

July 26 2008 ~ PZ expands again on Monday 28th July

to cover Herefordshire, the unitary authority of Telford and Wrekin and the districts in Shropshire (North Shropshire, Shrewsbury and Atcham, South Shropshire and Bridgnorth) previously in the Surveillance Zone, says DEFRA. "Extension into the last parts of the Surveillance Zone has been agreed following a review of the vaccine available in the supply chain." There will now be no Surveillance Zone in England and the Protection Zone will be expanded and vaccine supplied to free areas as soon as more supplies of vaccine become available. Livestock keepers in the Protection Zone are strongly advised to contact their private vet to place an order. The map of the new zones is added to the Zone map page (new window)

July 25 2008 ~ There may not be an absolute vector-free period in some areas, says EFSA

Asked by the European Commission to deliver advice on bluetongue with specific reference to the overwintering of the virus - and the protective measures that can be taken- the Animal Health and Welfare Panel (AHAW) of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) says that while recent data showed that in some areas, some Culicoides midges may remain active indoors through winter, the role of these insects in prolonging the transmission period of the virus is still not clear. There may not be an absolute vector-free period in some areas. (This may not be a surprising conclusion to some observers.)
According to the EFSA website, Member States are being advised to
"carry out in-depth analyses at regional level, since the life pattern of these insects may vary depending on location and season."
i.e. DEFRA is being advised to organise in-depth surveillance of the life pattern of the relevant midges in the various different areas of the UK.
As for the effectiveness of insecticides, the AHAW Panel said insecticides may be used to "limit the population" of Culicoides and their biting rates but should not be used as a stand-alone measure . By September 2008, the Panel intends to advise specifically "on the risks linked to the transit of animals through bluetongue infected areas".
For the pdf files showing the "Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Animal Health and Welfare on request from the Commission on bluetongue" the links and a summary can be found here.

July 24 2008 ~ Cumbria is not yet in Protection Zone

According to the Ellesmere Port Standard, "Cumbrian farmers fear that they will lose out due to the county's omission from the Bluetongue Protection Zone. Cheshire and Greater Manchester farms will be able to vaccinate their animals but Cumbria remains outside the zone. Without the vaccine, farmers could lose out when sales begin in August, as each animal must wait a month after having the jab before it can be moved."

July 21 2008 ~ Latest map of zones

Can be seen here. The Protection Zone was extended again today to cover Worcestershire and the districts in North Yorkshire (Scarborough, Ryedale, Hambleton & Harrogate), Cheshire (Macclesfield, Congleton & Crewe and Nantwich) and Greater Manchester (Rochdale, Oldham, Tameside and Stockport) previously in the Surveillance Zone, as illustrated in the declaration (PDF 510 KB) which comes into force at 00:01 on 21 July 2008. This follows the delivery of 1.9 million additional doses of Bluetongue vaccine. Defra has also confirmed that the Merial BTV-8 vaccine has been awarded a provisional marketing authorisation from the Veterinary Medicines Directorate.

July 21 2008 ~ Insecticide manufacturer PelGar International has published a free booklet

Stackyard.com says that PelGar suggests that putting Defra-approved insecticides in and around animal housing, the parlour and livestock vehicles, will reduce the chances of the animals being bitten in the first place. PelGar manufactures a range of Defra-approved insecticides including Vulcan, a "high powered, ready-for-use triple action fly spray", and Alphaban which is diluted with water before spraying; both can be used to treat buildings, equipment, machinery and vehicles. The booklet gives more details of the available products and offers practical spray advice so that they can be applied correctly for greatest effect. Copies of Protect against Bluetongue are available free of charge by calling 01420 80744 or emailing office@pelgar.co.uk.

July 21 2008 ~ Wales may change its strategy to incorporate the whole of Wales in a protection zone.

Dr Christianne Glossop has said that the Welsh administration's current approach is too piecemeal and that, since the delay (see below) means that the new batch of vaccine is now not expected until mid August, Cardiff may decide the declare the whole of Wales a bluetongue protection zone in early September to allow livestock vaccination to proceed right across Wales. She is quoted by the Daily Post
"We are trying to calculate whether this is more advatageous than rolling out vaccination in a piecemeal manner, with all the confusing movement restrictions that would result."
s livestock in protection zones would be subject to 60-day movement standstills, scores of sheep and cattle sales would be thrown into disarray. No decision has yet been taken and no vaccine will be held back.

July 18/19 2008 ~ In Wales, the roll-out of bluetongue vaccine has suffered a setback.

Delivery of the latest batch of 1.5m doses has been put back at least a month. Dr Christianne Glossop, who had hoped to declare south-west Wales a bluetongue protection zone in the next few days, is quoted in the Welsh Daily Post "On current indications we do not expect to roll-out the protection zone further until mid-August at the earliest." Few farmers in south-west Wales will now be able to sell breeding stock at the big NSA Cymru sales at Builth Wells in September and breed societies may now have to revise their sales programme. The reason given is that bluetongue experts consider that, given the potential advance of the disease, England should have priority for vaccine.

July 17 ~ Protection Zone will be extended again on Monday 21 July

to cover Worcestershire and the districts in North Yorkshire (Scarborough, Ryedale, Hambleton & Harrogate), Cheshire (Macclesfield, Congleton & Crewe and Nantwich) and Greater Manchester (Rochdale, Oldham, Tameside and Stockport) previously in the Surveillance Zone, as illustrated in the declaration (PDF 510 KB) which comes into force at 00:01 on 21 July 2008. This follows the delivery of 1.9 million additional doses of Bluetongue vaccine. Defra has also confirmed that the Merial BTV-8 vaccine has been awarded a provisional marketing authorisation from the Veterinary Medicines Directorate. See DEFRA An order was placed in June with Merial to deliver 13 million doses of BTV-8 vaccine, eight million for use in England and five million for use in Wales.

Monday 14 July ~ "a particular threat to our Farm Animal Genetic Resources"

In an indication that DEFRA may be feeling less confident that the vaccination message is resulting in a high enough coverage to protect all ruminants, a DEFRA news release today quotes the Chair of the National Standing Committee on Farm Animal Genetic Resources and head of SAC Edinburgh's Sustainable Livestock Systems Group, Professor Geoff Simm. He is particularly concerned about the survival of rare breeds:
"We are concerned that some keepers of rare and traditional breeds....may not have heard the vaccination message. ...urging vets to contact their clients with these breeds to encourage them to vaccinate. Protecting biodiversity in our farm animals and crops is important to help us meet future challenges, including that of feeding the growing human population in a sustainable way. We also have important national and international obligations to do so....."Read in full
Very true - but the unfortunate EU rule that vaccination is permitted only within the bluetongue protection zone means that even now there are farmers who do not feel any sense of urgency - and even within the zones it is alarming to hear that so many remain undecided. Without adequate coverage in farmed ruminants - and that really does have to approach 100% given the numbers of unvaccinated wild deer - there will be scant chance of stopping the virus. Official checks on efficacy are vital and it is hard not to sense a certain languid indifference on the part of some of those officials exhorting farmers to "order vaccine so that they can protect their livestock at the earliest opportunity". .

Monday 14 July ~ PZ extended today..

.. to cover all of the District of Selby, the Unitary Authority of York, West Yorkshire (made up of the metropolitan boroughs of Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield), Derbyshire (including Derby), Staffordshire (including Stoke-on-Trent) and West Midlands (made up of the metropolitan boroughs of Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull and Walsall) See warmwell's Zone Map page and DEFRA website

Saturday 12 July ~ "It's all very well talking about the successes of bluetongue, but what hope is there of people working together now?"

FMD, TB and Bluetongue. While at least in the matter of Bluetongue, the UK is pretty much on track it does need the understanding and cooperation of all farmers if the virus is to be left with nowhere to go. One wonders if the real extent of dismay among those who farm dairy and beef cattle is touching anyone in the government. Many livestock farmers are in despair - and very, very angry. Distrust and a feeling of being utterly discounted has never been greater - yet the present food and energy crisis means that the country needs its farmers more than ever. Has the government really no inkling of this either?
Lyndon Edwards, chairman of the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers is quoted at www.thecep.org.uk Mr Edwards has a 200 head organic dairy farm in Chepstow and has lost 70 cattle over the last three years, costing him hundreds of thousands of pounds. He says
"As well as the value for the cattle, I am losing half a million litres of milk every year. I should be getting 35p/litre for it. Lots of farmers are on the brink of losing their business. What is particularly galling is just over the border in Wales, there is a chief veterinary officer who has a brief to control and eradicate TB.
It's all very well talking about the successes of bluetongue, but what hope is there of people working together now? The gloves are off. Farmers will start to refuse to co-operate to Defra's bovine TB measures and who can blame them. Mr Benn has missed a massive opportunity to control TB in both badgers and cattle. He talked about public acceptance, but if the public saw the suffering of infected badgers they would be horrified by the lack of animal welfare."

Friday 11 July ~ The National Beef Association says breeders looking for replacements, or store stock for feeding, will soon require proof of vaccination before they purchase

Kim Haywood, the director of the NBA is quoted at www.meatinfo.co.uk
"We know that farmers in TB areas would give their right hands to protect themselves from the disease in exchange for so little time and money and we are certain that every farmer in a BTV8 protection zone should be thinking the same. Bluetongue causes extensive cow infertility and premature births - and semen recovery of infected bulls may never return. ... surviving calves can be carriers ...Later this year we expect that breeders looking for replacements, or store stock for feeding, will require proof of vaccination before they purchase."

Friday 11 July ~ Risk involved if pregnant cows are imported

Jack Davies at the Farmers Guardian reports the warning that since "scientists have concluded that the bluetongue virus can pass across the placenta and infect unborn calves.."
" stock imported from the continent could bring the disease with it regardless of it having tested negative for the virus..."
An EU Working Group concluded at the end of April that "preliminary conclusions indicate that trans-placental transmission of BTV-8 occurs and it does so frequently but it has to be confirmed if this is the major means of over-wintering in Northern Europe". The Belgian research indicated that trans-placental transmission in cattle is proven for BTV-8 but so far no proof yet of trans-placental transmission in sheep. See recent papers

Wednesday July 9 ~The new declaration comes into force on the 14 July 2008 at 00.01.

DEFRA From 00:01 Monday 14 July, the Protection Zone will be extended again to cover all of the District of Selby, the Unitary Authority ofYork, West Yorkshire (made up of the metropolitan boroughs of Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield), Derbyshire (including Derby), Staffordshire (including Stoke-on-Trent) and West Midlands (made up of the metropolitan boroughs of Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull and Walsall) as illustrate
The Declaration of a Protection Zone and a Surveillance Zone made at 16:00 on 2 July 2008 under the Bluetongue Regulations 2008 will be replaced by this declaration.

Wednesday July 9 ~ a DNA-based system has been developed that may "pave the way for the development of a highly safe, and successful vaccine against bluetongue"

We read at www.thaindian.com that Professor Polly Roy at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has discovered that bluetongue virus (BTV) is using "unique viral enzymes to replicate..."
"Replication of the viral genome is the "heart" of a virus. It is the key process that allows establishment of infection. Understanding the fundamental processes of how bluetongue virus initiates and sustains infection will help us determine the best way to prevent and control bluetongue disease...
..... the scientists know that it is possible to synthesise the structures that allow replication of the virus in the lab, they believe they will be able to examine the effects of viral mutations on replication. Recently, a DNA-based system has been developed that will provide breakthrough experimental techniques of relevance to many viruses that infect humans and animals. It will also pave the way for the development of a highly safe, and successful vaccine against bluetongue disease. ..." Read in full
See also the background to Professor Roy's work on the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine website

July 8 ~"From today, the details on the VLA webisite of our turnaround time for the Bluetongue PCR have been modified..."

"We will endeavour to report the majority of results within five working days or less." Many thanks again to Lynn Hendry at the VLA (VLA website) She writes, "Previously it said that the turnaround for this test was a minimum of 7 working days but this was incorrect and should have read a turnaround of a maximum of 7 working days. I have also added that the majority of test results will be ready to report in 5 days or less." See also below for the problems of the 7 day limit for exporters of "other ruminants"

July 8 ~ NFU and BVA "fully supportive of this investigation"

Dr Chris Oura (Institute for Animal Health) and Dr James Wood (University of Cambridge) have just begun to investigate two aspects of bluetongue vaccination in Britain.. Dr Oura is quoted on the www.iah.bbsrc.ac.uk website: "We are most keen to get the involvement of farmers in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk in this study, they being at the epicentre of last year's historic outbreak. To help farmers this year and next year, we need to assess how well vaccination is working and what reasons underlie decisions to vaccinate".
Dr Oura and Dr Wood want to
"...ascertain the take-up of vaccine by farmers and to understand better the reasons for the success of the programme. The other aspect is to quantify the animal health, welfare and financial benefits associated with vaccination. The results will be essential not only for demonstrating how worthwhile vaccination has been this year, but also to inform possible further vaccine development, formulation and application, and for preparing the most up to date information and advice for farmers for next year."
Dr Wood is Director of the Cambridge Infectious Diseases Consortium, a veterinarian who has specialised in the epidemiology and control of infectious diseases of livestock, horses and wildlife. http://www.vet.cam.ac.uk/cidc
All information sent to him "will be treated in strict confidence and will be unattributable". Email btv8@vet.cam.ac.uk or phone 01223 764962 See webpage

Tuesday 8 July ~ widespread ignorance around about the seriousness of the disease

A much repected farming friend writes in an email today:
"... as several of your correspondents have pointed out, there is still a worrying ignorance around about the seriousness of the disease. About a month ago I was in an agricultural merchants waiting my turn and overhearing the conversation of a woman in front of me. I realised that she had cattle and so I butted in and asked her how she had got on with the vaccination for Bluetongue. Her answer was 'I am still debating it'.
A week before my husband had been talking to a local grazier about when he was going to put cattle on a small scrap of environmental land we own away from the farm. When asked the same question about vaccination he said that he still hadn't made up his mind..."

Tuesday 8 July ~ no infrastructure in place for accurate checking on the numbers of vaccinates

The email goes on to echo the worry expressed long ago in March by the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVA) that the UK plan would be unable to make it clear what percentage was vaccinated, when, and if this was carried out correctly. "It would seem unlikely that this would lead to a reliable overview of vaccination coverage, never mind export certification" This genuine concern seems to have been dismissed by Fred Landeg at the time. Today's email:
"What really worries me is that there appears to be no infrastructure in place for accurate checking on the numbers of livestock vaccinated. The official line is that since Defra knows the numbers of animals on farm from the annual census and also knows the number of vaccines ordered, officials will know roughly what the take-up has been. But this is not good enough.
If Defra is not going to take responsibility for accurate checking of vaccine take-up and identifying areas and individuals with no vaccination, then the BVA/RVC should ask their members
(a) to check on numbers of ruminant owners in their practices who have failed to vaccinate susceptible animals;
(b) to report back to BVA/RVC and Defra;
and (c) write urgently to those who have not vaccinated urging them to do so without delay - assuming that the vaccine is still available in all protection zones.

Tuesday 8 July ~ A worrying abrogation of responsibility

How can Defra expect farmers to share costs if Defra abrogates the basic responsibility of collecting information, when it has the data bases which could be used to provide it? At the same time, Defra needs to work in conjunction with the veterinary profession in order to get a complete picture - there will be numbers of livestock keepers with minute numbers of animals but who will almost certainly be registered with a vet.

Monday July 7 2008 ~ The Protection Zone will be extended again today

"Almost 2 million additional doses of Bluetongue vaccine" have arrived. The Protection Zone will be extended to cover all of the East Riding of Yorkshire (including the City of Kingston upon Hull), South Yorkshire (made up of the metropolitan boroughs of Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield), Gloucestershire (including the unitary authority of South Gloucestershire) and Warwickshire, as illustrated in the declaration (PDF 524 KB). Livestock keepers in the Protection Zone should contact their private vet to place an order. See also relevant DEFRA page
For detailed map see current Zone map.

July 3/4 2008 ~ The VLA addresses concerns about the turn round time for the Bluetongue PCR, particularly for goat breeders.

We have heard from the VLA today:
"The reason we have a 7 working day turn round time is to allow for any technical problems with the test and for retesting of samples. We will be endeavouring to report results routinely within 4 to 5 working days or less but have allowed 7 days for the reasons I have given above. We will be aiming to test twice a week and so it should be only rarely that a submission takes 7 working days to report. I hope this answers your query and that your warmwell readers will be assured and satisfied by this reply."
The VLA is evidently working very hard indeed to speed up tests and Warmwell.com is very grateful to Lynn Hendry and others at the VLA for such a quick and helpful response. The VLA is well known among farmers for its helpfulness and friendly approach. The problem for the exporters of "other ruminants", alas, remains that a seven day limit is very tight even if tests can be done in 5 days. If tangible evidence in the form of a letter is required to back up the export licence then a ten day limit would seem only reasonable. How are the test results going to be reported to the exporter? If an email or fax would do then there would be less of a problem - but if DEFRA is demanding a formal paper trail any technical problem could result in delays and losses. If prebooked transport arrangements with hauliers had to be cancelled because of a technical hitch it would be very expensive. It might not even be possible to rebook and then one would be faced with having to test yet again at some future point and go through the same process and anxiety.

July 3 2008 ~ South West Wales will be next

Wales' Daily Post says that once the south east area vaccination, begun on friday, is completed ".. the programme will shift to an area including the remainder of Neath Port Talbot, Swansea, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire. It had been thought the next area to be targeted would be the Welsh borders in order to create a buffer zone against the disease's midge-borne advance from England. But Wales' chief vet Dr Christianne Glossop said the south west was chosen after a veterinary risk assessment and analysis of livestock populations, meteorological conditions and predicted midge circulation. The area will be declared a protection zone to allow vaccination to begin..." Read in full

July 3 2008 ~ Experts have predicted an early influx of the Culicoides midge

Yesterday's Mail (which does not mention Bluetongue) gave a gloomy forecast after the mild winter and wet spring has created ideal breeding conditions for midges and mosquitoes
"...'Generally, July and August are the key months for pest prevention, but these environmental conditions have meant that the season has started much earlier than normal.' Paul Pearce-Kelly, senior curator of invertebrates at the Zoological Society of London, explained: "..... Changing weather patterns and milder winters are creating conditions more favourable to mosquito breeding. We are seeing a trend of an increasingly favourable climate here to mosquitoes. Normally the biting winters in Britain would kill everything off, but now we are seeing much milder conditions which means we are becoming more vulnerable to these pests. 'Increased travel - not just of humans but of cargo too - is also producing an environment in which mosquitoes flourish.'..."
Read in full

July 3 2008 ~ Scotland's vaccine is to be available in 100ml bottles only.

The Merial vaccine is to cost around £70 per 100ml bottle Unfortunately the problems that the size of bottle is likely to cause - such as waste and misuse - do not seem to have occurred to those doing the ordering. The Land Care website has more detail. Extract: "...Scotland only ordered its 12 million doses on 27th June: last week (1). Two million doses are said to be promised should BTV8 strike Scotland before the Vector Free Period in December. But it looks as though much of that 2million doses may be wasted on account of the large bottle size. The purchase of Scotland's vaccine is a cost sharing business, with the Scottish Government contributing up to £3million of the cost. The rest, whatever the cost, is to be paid for by the industry. But Scottish stakeholders were allowed no part in the tendering process...." Read in full

July 2 2008 ~ Another new case in France

has been confirmed in the Département of Aveyron at Huparlac. There are now in France 6 017 cases of BTV reported during 2008 (of which 6 are bluetongue serotype 1). Of the year's reported cases of BTV8, 13 cases are "this year's" virus circulating in 2008 (There were 15 569 cases reported in 2007 (of which 3 were of serotype 1). The report in French.

July 2 2008 ~ Testing other ruminants for export "...the turn round for these tests is 7 working days! How on earth are we meant to cope with this?"

An anomaly in the Licence and Testing programme for exports has come to our attention. Because the BTV vaccine has not yet been granted a Marketing Authority for other species, different rules for export apply to ruminants other than sheep and bovines. For the purposes of the new EXD484 Licence "to move ruminants other than cattle or sheep", goats, camelids, or any other ruminants must undergo two blood tests under one of two timescales. However, in both options, the second test must be done not more than 7 days before the export. The VLA website has details of the testing and it quite clearly states that the turn round for these tests is 7 working days.
Some goat owners feel, not unnaturally, very frustrated at the way in which goats in particular are treated in the UK. There are 90,000 in Britain - with some very large dairy herds regularly exporting quality stock all over Europe. One farmer, who is just about to start working with the Norwegians on a large AI programme in Cashmere goats with a view eventually to exporting to Norway and Tanzania, says, "We might be small but as a species we probably punch above our weight for live breeding stock exports. We could do without this sort of additional headache!"
Any helpful comment to warmwell.com about this would be much appreciated.
Jane Barribal of farmtalking writes, "those affected should write/phone to the VLA/DEFRA/their MP's etc,. and explain the logistical difficulties of this time scale. It may seem obvious to us but probably isn't to those who sit in offices and have never seen a goat and may have no idea what a camelid is."

July 1 2008 ~ PCR test for Bluetongue

A PCR test for Bluetongue now available from the VLA
"The Veterinary Laboratories Agency has worked in collaboration with the Institute of Animal Health (IAH) at Pirbright to introduce the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test for Bluetongue virus. This test is now available via veterinary surgeons for pre-movement (UK) and export testing purposes only. As of this date, PCR testing for these purposes will no longer be available from IAH, Pirbright."
According to the VLA website, prices of PCR tests are:
single sample submitted - £30
2 to 9 samples submitted - £25 per sample
10+ samples submitted - £22.50 per sample
Price of ELISA test: £4.50 per sample
These prices include the cost of up to two re-tests, if required, as defined in the approved testing protocols.
All samples for bluetongue testing for pre-movement (UK) or export purposes must be submitted to the VLA. Samples submitted to the Pirbright laboratory for testing for pre-movement (UK) or export purposes will not be tested from now on. PCR samples must be submitted using the: VLA Bluetongue PCR Submission Form (pdf)
ELISA samples must be submitted using the: VLA Bluetongue ELISA Sample Submission Form If tests for diseases, other than bluetongue, are needed on the same animal, farmers are asked to supply additional sample(s) and submit them using the appropriate submission forms. (The VLA webpage should be viewed in its entirety.)

Tuesday July 1 2008 ~ Vaccine arrives in South East Wales

850,000 doses of the vaccine are now available but it is somewhat depressing to read in the Welsh press such as the Western Mail that since there is "no compensation for those whose flocks or herds are infected" vaccination is "essentially a business decision". The UK is relying on the voluntary good sense of all farmers to effect a vaccination coverage of the necessary breadth - and, given the susceptibility of wild deer that cannot be easily vaccinated, this really must approach 100%. One realises with concern that in the UK, if the virus is left pockets of unvaccinated animals in which it can take hold and spread, then the vaccination campaign could falter and fail. The Western Mail also quotes NFU Cymru president Dai Davies
"I'm urging those farmers in the Protection Zone to vaccinate their susceptible animals such as sheep and cattle as soon as possible in order to protect their stock, their livelihoods and the industry as a whole ...While I appreciate it is an added cost at a time when the livestock sectors can ill-afford it, I regard it as a small price to pay .... The alternative is unthinkable. I don't think we can afford not to vaccinate."
Mr Davies also made it clear that the "rumours of adverse reactions to the vaccine circulating around livestock markets were unsubstantiated" See also below.

June 30 2008 ~ PZ now covers the whole of France

On June 20, 2008 the whole of continental France was declared a Protection Zone since there is now no Department to remain unscathed - indeed, the SW part of France fears a possible double attack from both strain 8 and strain 1. The bluetongue restricted zones of Europe now look like this.
Large version.
The Groupements de Défense Sanitaire or GDS are animal health groups in France who act in conjunction with the official Veterinary Services to devise and implement action plans against disease and who have, for example, devised a collective mutual aid system for compensating economic losses. They are active in most areas and their webpages - in french - are informative and easy to navigate. Just one page on the Department 18 GDS site, for example, gives an indication of how helpful such an organisation can be. Current cases and zones are shown on coloured maps and there are useful links on subjects such as vaccination, vaccines and additional financial aid from the government. French livestock owners - thanks particularly to the GDS - have, up until now, had access to a certain amount of compensation from disease losses (This ceases at the beginning of the Summer). An Agriculture Ministry memorandum explains (in french) on this pdf file the nature and amount of official financial help. Such a wealth of helpful, transparent and up-to-date information may make British farmers wonder why such clarity is not available on their own side of the Channel.

June 29 2008 ~ "..may be the best option from the point of view of trade restrictions in the short term, but it is not the best way of controlling spread and therefore of protecting trade in the longer run."

Dr Irvine of the Land Care website does not share the optimism expressed below by Nigel Miller. In his Land Care article yesterday he expressed again how axiomatic it is that vaccination comes before a threatened disease arrives ..."But when will the EC get round to recognising that axiom?"
"...... whatever the epidemiological modellers may say, Scotland is at risk from bluetongue as early as this summer and late August..
The EPIC Report ( note: EPIC is the Scottish Government's Epidemiological and Population Health and Infectious Disease Control Centre, based at the Glasgow Vet School) on the threat of bluetongue disease to Scotland, chaired by Professor Gunn of Aberdeen and involving six of Scotland's scientific establishments and Pirbright, has had its remit extended and has not yet published its findings. Although the risk of bluetongue reaching Scotland may be thought by the SCVO and his advisers to be low, the consequences of it happening would be dire... We should not be taking such a risk..... "
If bluetongue disease arrives in Scotland before the so-called vector-free-period, the Scottish authorities intend to keep Protection and Surveillance Zones as small as possible. As Dr Irvine says, this is hardly "the best way of controlling spread and therefore of protecting trade in the longer run." If England's Protection Zone arrives at the border with Scotland before the end of infected midge activity it would put border animals at risk since, under present EU rules, movement of livestock from anywhere within other Protection Zones is allowed - even where bluetongue has been rife and vaccination not yet effective. As Dr Irvine concludes: "These matters must be cause for much anxiety among livestock farmers in Scotland, but none more so than those who farm in the Scottish Borders." Read in full

June 27 2008 ~ NFU Scotland has welcomed the announcement that the Scottish Government has placed its order for Bluetongue vaccine

Stackyard "The order for twelve million doses of vaccine - enough for all of Scotland's cattle and sheep - has been placed with the pharmaceutical company Merial. Deliveries are expected to start in August. Depending on disease developments in England, Scotland may choose to start its compulsory vaccination campaign in the winter.... "
Nigel Miller is quoted: "The announcement....allows for a flexible approach to disease control in Scotland. Vaccination is moving ahead at pace in England and Wales, and Scottish livestock farmers are hugely reliant on that voluntary programme receiving the full backing of producers in those parts of GB that currently have access to vaccine stocks. Vaccination is the key tool in preventing the disease from getting a foothold in the UK in the next few months. Should the disease cross the Scottish border this summer then we now have the tools in place to react. If the disease's progress is stalled by the vaccination campaign elsewhere in the country then Scottish vaccine stocks will be in place to allow a protective campaign this winter."
Unaccountably, stakeholders at the meeting on June 24 (see below) were not told that this order was going to be placed.

June 27 2008 ~ Zones will be extended today. Latest vaccine batch has cleared

DEFRA announced on Wednesday "The Protection Zone will be extended at midday on Friday 27 June, following the latest delivery of 2 million doses of Bluetongue vaccine." The new zones will be put on our zone map page as soon as possible. Livestock keepers in the areas coming into the Protection Zone will be able to obtain the vaccine from the time they become part of the Zone but need to order vaccine in advance through their vet.
Protection Zone restrictions will apply to those keepers coming into the extended zone. Animals can move out of the Protection Zone if they are vaccinated, naturally immune or moving for slaughter, subject to meeting certain conditions. Animals will also be able to be moved between the Protection Zones in Wales and England, subject to the conditions on the transit licence.

June 25 2008 ~ As expected, no order has yet been placed for Bluetongue serotype 8 vaccine (BTV8) for Scotland.

Dr James Irvine, whose disappointment and deep concern following yesterday's stakeholder meeting, is apparent at the Scottish Land Care website, writes that Scottish livestock farmers were led to believe that an order for 12 million doses was imminent, but still have no clear idea when the vaccine will be available. (Some 2 million doses may, possibly, be available before then if (if!) BTV arrives.) He writes:
"Is the EPIC epidemiological modelling study, commissioned by the Scottish Government, available in the public domain? It should be....
...It would be interesting to read the evidence on which the remarkable statement is based that significant disease control is achieved with only 50% vaccination. It looks as though it is a smokescreen to cover the eventuality that the 2 million doses that may be available before December 2008 are not going to be enough..."
What is deplored by so many of us, and by Dr Irvine in particular, is that there is, as ever, too much emphasis on trade considerations - rather than on effective disease control and clear communication with anxious farmers. "....Obfuscation in the procurement of essential bluetongue vaccine is the last thing we need, " he says, adding that because of, " inappropriate bureaucracy such as illogical EC rules on vaccination in disease-free countries (2), Scottish livestock farmers are being forced to accept serious risk.." Read in full.

24 June 2008 ~ DEFRA issues New Licence

New licence: EXD484(BT)(E) - (pdf new window) General licence for the movement of ruminant animals other than cattle and sheep out of a Bluetongue Protection Zone or a Bluetongue Surveillance Zone including movements to free areas outside England or Wales or for export.

June 24 2008 ~ Worse and worse..

Clear and friendly communication with farmers and vets has never been more urgently needed. Another email - from Devon again - tells us that a farmer, concerned about the costs involved with vaccinating all of his stock, was advised by his vet
".... to do his cattle, his pedigree sheep and any sheep which were to be turned out onto the moor (and therefore difficult to access later). As for his commercial flock on more accessible grazing, the advice was 'wait and see how the disease progresses and/or wait until vaccination is made compulsory so the Government will pay for it'. Can it be possible that a vet is giving out advice like this?"
Unfortunately it looks very much as if it can. Even now - with time so desperately short - and even after the splendid efforts of JAB, accurate information is not getting to the right places. Any helpful indications that this worrying situation is being addressed would be very welcome indeed.

June 24 2008 ~"I've done my best to explain why but keep feeling I shouldn't have to do this..."

Another concerned farmer in Devon has written. Extract:
"Following on from your correspondent from Dartmoor whose neighbours are NOT vaccinating, I have a different problem. My neighbour runs 300 head of cattle and has bought the vaccine but left it at the vets! I am completing my 2 doses next weekend and he hasn't even started.
.... It's going to be a lot of trouble getting all the cattle together to vaccinate so he wants to wait to see if there is indeed any further incidence before going ahead. I've explained until I'm "blue" in the face that you need to vaccinate ahead of any further outbreaks because animals won't be immune until sometime after the second dose. It just doesn't seem to register.... There is also a problem with some local Alpaca keepers. Some have got together and decided to administer only half the dose of 1ml believing that it can't possibly be right that Alpacas need the same dose as cattle! Again, I've done my best to explain ...."
The writer wishes that not only alpaca owners but also those farmers who are happy to let vaccine sit in a fridge "to see if there's any further incidence" need access to authoritative and correct information, adding," I keep feeling I shouldn't have to do this.." (Warmwell.com knows the feeling.) See also our May posting "What about camelids" while the relevant BVA one-page summary on vaccine for all susceptible speciies can be seen here (pdf)

June 24 2008 ~ Fort Dodge has begun to supply Italy with BTV8 vaccine

Fort Dodge Animal Health has announced the supply of the first 500,000 doses of the Company's Zulvac® 8 vaccine. Serotype 8 was first identified in Italy in March 2008 in the province of Verona.  Fort Dodge is one of two companies appointed by the Italian government to produce the Bluetongue Serotype 8 vaccine and will supply a total of 4.4 million doses during June and July. Mass vaccination of cattle will start in the province of Verona, followed by Mantova and Brescia, and then extending to cover all sensitive cattle in the North of Italy.  The management of the vaccine distribution process will be carried out by the Istituto Zooprofilatico delle Venezie.  Fort Dodge is first company to supply the Serotype 8 vaccine in Italy.  It is being produced at the company's manufacturing facilities in Weesp, The Nederlands. See press release

June 24 2008 ~ "We are based on Dartmoor and to my concern a significant number of our neighbours have decided not to vaccinate .."

"..as a result of the rumours circulating about the vaccine causing abortions in their cattle. We are vaccinating tomorrow..." Part of an email received on Monday evening.
WHY are such rumours still circulating? This farmer's neighbours in Dartmoor may - like the very concerned writer of the email - be self-confessed "Luddites" when it comes to the internet and are not being advised, it seems. We have attempted to put such rumours to rest - but the website is a voluntary one with limited readership. Even now that - for bluetongue at least - vaccination has been accepted by the EU as the only viable choice, it is hardly surprising that farmers are baffled and unsure what to do since vaccination for FMD has been ignored and many farmers still erroneously assume that this must be because it is in some way unsafe. The real reason for the non-use of safe vaccines, such as those available for foot and mouth, rests on trade considerations alone. Scientifically based animal health policy is a matter of national importance yet, in spite of a certain amount of self congratulation that seems to be going on in high places, there are still baffled and worried farmers who are choosing out of fear and ignorant rumour not to vaccinate. This is truly alarming.

June 24 2008 ~ Austria will start vaccinating livestock in the regions bordering Germany from July.

Plans are to cover the whole of Austria once sufficient vaccine is available. The first 30.000 doses of vaccine should be available early in July in the Vorarlberg region and the priority is to vaccinate animals first that are destined for marketing in autumn. Vaccination is compulsory. www.dolomiten.it

June 23 2008 ~ 3D model of the Blue Tongue virus 5,200,000 times the size of the real thing has been created by Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) engineering researchers

According to The Engineer Online The engineering researchers at Warwick University have based their model on data provided by IAH Pirbright and Oxford University.
"...The Warwick team used rapid prototyping technology, normally used to create highly accurate 3D copies of components for a range of manufacturing processes, to create an accurate 3D model virus that is 5,200,000 times the size of the real thing. Dr Greg Gibbons, who leads the University of Warwick's WMG's rapid prototyping team, is working with Prof Peter Mertens, head of the Arbovirus Research Group at the Institute of Animal Health at Pirbright, and Robert Esnouf of Oxford. 'Having a physical model that you can pick up and peer at will make a huge difference,' said Prof Mertens.
The Blue Tongue model will be on show at the Royal Society's Summer Science Exhibition in London from June 30 to July 3.

June 23 2008 ~ Open Letter to Charles Milne asks for early vaccination in Scotland to be accompanied by a voluntary import ban while effective vaccination is being completed

Dr James Irvine has written an open letter to Scotland's CVO, Charles Milne, Vaccinate at the earliest possible date
"..... Why on earth are Scottish farmers importing beasts from countries with high disease is beyond me, when the limitations of premovement testing are obvious. But the illogical EC rules allow this to happen. ... .... it may be argued by some that there is no point in vaccinating in late August or September (should the vaccine for Scotland be available by then) since by the time vaccination could be fully effective the disease risk would have been largely gone. I believe this to be quite fallacious. Effective vaccination gives protection for 12 months. There is considerable latitude on either side of the 12 months.....
....vaccination ..surely must start at the Borders and work north. Waiting until the whole of Scotland has vaccine would be distinctly unwise ....At present livestock farmers do not know whether vaccine has even yet been ordered for Scotland..."
The letter should of course be read in full on the www.land-care.org.uk website
The next stakeholders meeting in Scotland is today (Monday) The Scottish Government declared on March 7 they were going ahead with the process of acquiring 12 million doses of BT-8 vaccine for all the cattle and sheep in Scotland. Since then, there has been no news for livestock owners.

June 20 2008 ~ "...as Anna Hill finds out, vaccination is patchy and there is no system in place to monitor how many animals have been treated."

Farming Today (June 19) suggests that farmers are being too complacent about vaccinating their livestock. Richard from Elm Farm commented later on the BBC page " the only sensible target amongst susceptible farm livestock is for 100 per cent uptake.... 80 per cent as a target will mean farmer uptake well below that. A serious point for consideration is the potential reservoir of Bluetongue infection in wild susceptible animals such as deer....a 100 per cent vaccination target in farm livestock is even more critical ..."
John Brigg from Warwickshire, under restrictions in a Surveillance Zone since last October said, ".... Although desperate to move into the PZ and start vaccinating I can accept there has been a hiccup in the vaccine supply but dread Warwickshire being moved into the PZ before the Royal Show. This would have the effect of allowing stock - vaccinated or not, it is a voluntary scheme - into the county from all over the previously infected areas into a county with a naive population of midges and unvaccinated livestock."
On the programme, the point was also made that lack of portable handling equipment makes it difficult or even impossible to vaccinate cattle on the marshes. It may be remembered that this caused real problems during the 2007 FMD crisis in Surrey. Lack of such equipment raises serious questions about the feasibility of emergency vaccination and testing in a crisis.

June 20 2008 ~ Federation of Veterinarians of Europe warning revisited

The UK does deserve quite a lot of credit: the zones will be extended again, vaccine is available and more is on its way. How very angry Fred Landeg (now retired, now CBE) was when the FVE was so dismissive of the UK scheme back in March. Its president, Walter Winding, gave us a depressing insight into what our European neighbours seem to feel about the way UK disease control is handled; "Irrespective of the disease outbreaks the UK has faced over recent years, it continues to cut budgets and to reduce its Animal Health Services...."
The FVE added that the UK would be unable to make it clear what percentage of livestock had been vaccinated, nor when and if this had been carried out correctly, adding that it was unlikely that the UK scheme
" ...would lead to a reliable overview of vaccination coverage, never mind export certification."
We must remain hopeful that the JAB organisations, with their determination to encourage the highest possible coverage, will be able to ensure that this prophecywas wrong.

June 20 2008 ~ June 2 batch of vaccine clearing for shipment - we hope

DEFRA says today, "The batch, which has already been prepared, is undergoing final, rigorous quality control testing and indications so far are promising. However, before it can be released, the vaccine needs to undergo remaining checks, including final clearance from the Veterinary Medicines Directorate. As soon as we've had that clearance, we will update this page with further information and make an announcement about the next stage of the roll-out..."
Cornwall, Warwickshire, Gloucestershire, the current Restricted Zone in Wales and the major part of Yorkshire will be able to be assimilated into the Protection Zone - and thus able to vaccinate - as soon as the batch is released. They had hoped to start vaccinating on June 2. As we say below, Intervet's Alasdair King said the delay was not related to any problems with the vaccine.
The UK's other supplier, Merial, hopes to start delivering the additional 13 million doses ordered by Defra "as early as July", according to this Farmers Guardian article.

June 19 2008 ~ Roll-out of the vaccine to the South East Wales bluetongue restriction zone "imminent".

Wales Daily Post reports
".....NSA Cymru development officer Helen Davies said the roll-out of the vaccine to the South East Wales bluetongue restriction zone was imminent. Leftover vaccine from the first 2.5m-dose batch will be targeted at Welsh border farms to create a buffer zone. The rest of Wales must wait until late summer - probably August - until vaccine from a second 5m-dose batch becomes available..."
The rest of Wales is understandably worried. One farmer from Mid Wales, not only concerned about protecting flocks from Bluetongue, is quoted:
"Unless the whole of Wales is soon designated a Protection Zone and the vaccine is rolled out throughout Wales, then this year's breeding sales will be a disaster."
Breeders are of course anxious since the 60 day standstill following vaccination affects farmers' ability to get sheep into sheep breeding sales. The National Sheep Association and the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society are organising a meeting at the Royal Welsh showground on Wednesday, 25th June at which it is hoped the Welsh CVO, Dr Christianne Glossop, will address concerns about the bluetongue vaccination timetable.

June 19 2008 ~ DEFRA's next batch of vaccine from Intervet, already prepared, has been undergoing "rigorous quality control testing"

It seems very likely that the next batch from Intervet will be soon available. They have risen to the occasion with very commendable speed - and as we say below, the fact that DEFRA has ordered further supplies from Merial is in no way at all a reflection on Intervet since they were not in the tender, being already so busy with current supplies. DEFRA's website hopes to have news of the planned expansion of the Protection Zone tomorrow. Intervet are apparently receiving a very low number of suspected adverse reactions following vaccination: none of which is causing serious concern. See DEFRA's vaccination page.

June 17 2008 ~ "no significant fertility problems have been reported"

On the subject of the recent and odd rumours about fertility problems, Dr Chris Oura, Head of the Non-Vesicular Reference labs at Pirbright, writes the following:
" I have attended many scientific presentations on all aspects of bluetongue vaccination and I have never heard any significant reports of fertility problems in sheep vaccinated with inactivated bluetongue vaccines. Inactivated bluetongue vaccines have been used extensively in many countries in southern Europe since 2006 in both sheep and cattle with no significant fertility problems. My feeling is there is confusion here with use of live attenuated vaccines which have been reported as causing fertility issues.
I must emphasise that the vaccine we are using in the UK in an inactivated vaccine and up to the present date no significant fertility problems have been reported related to the use of inactivated vaccines in sheep and cattle. "
It is to be hoped any rumours that deter farmers from vaccinating can be scotched as soon as possible. Alasdair King, veterinary manager at Intervet, whose views are the same as those of Dr Oura, told warmwell that the confusion has arisen because people have heard that the disease itself can cause infertitility, abortions and abnormalities (e.g.see below). However, we are dealing here with a safe, inactivated vaccine and it is vitally important that all farmers who can, now order and use it.

June 17 2008 ~ Midgeater and Barrfly technology "This technology is an essential building block in ensuring we can control the disease.." Nigel Miller

The Sunday Herald's article:
".... In 2003, Texol developed the Midgeater, a machine that sucks up the insects after mimicking the CO2-generating effects of animal breath, which attracts the insects. ... .. Powered by propane gas and electricity, the new devices will be smaller and cheaper to produce ... a retail price under £500... ...Glasgow-based Innovent (Scotland) Ltd, founded by entrepreneur Bobby Motherwell, .... invented the Barrfly - a light, fabric-based ducting which creates an air curtain that cannot be penetrated by flying insects and can be fitted around outdoor structures...
Nigel Miller, vice-president of NFU Scotland, said: "Combating bluetongue is our number one priority.... This technology is an essential building block in ensuring we can control the disease." .... ...."
Read in full

June 16 2008 ~ Farmers should vaccinate and not be deterred by unsubstantiated rumour

There is deep concern that farmers are hearing and being alarmed by rumours concerning the vaccine's possible effect on fertility in sheep. Belgium has been mentioned. * No experts we have spoken to or heard from have been able to find any substance to such rumours. Evidently all such worries are taken very seriously but it should be remembered no vaccine ever produced has ever carried an absolute zero risk. In Europe, sheep already infected with the disease previously and then vaccinated are likely to experience increased infertility of course, but the vaccine itself does not seem to have been shown to have any effect on fertility. If there were any reports to the contrary they would be immediately posted up here and, as usual, any helpful information will be gratefully received (contact).
The message now is vaccinate. Do not delay.
UPDATE One very eminent veterinary source writes to warmwell,
"The simple answer is that the actual disease can cause problems with fertility, probably also stillbirth, abortion, foetal abnormalities and neonatal deaths. Live vaccine can also produce similar problems, but the vaccine being used throughout Europe to provide protection against BTV8 is NOT live and it is therefore safe - and sensible - to use it. Economic losses and welfare problems will be far greater if people do not vaccinate - BTV 8 is a very nasty virus."
The next batch of vaccine (already prepared) is, according to DEFRA, "undergoing rigorous quality control testing and we will update this page with more information by 20 June"
(*Update 2. We hear that a Belgian vet has heard of no such reports. He strongly urges everyone to vaccinate their stock. He says that the huge losses of livestock in Northern Europe mean that vaccination is definitely the best option.)

June 13 2008 ~ Farmers should always read the insert that comes with animal health products says Intervet Animal Health.

The Farmers Guardian quotes Alasdair King, veterinary manager for Intervet, following the concern (see below) that when flukicide and/or wormer was given at the same time as the bluetongue vaccine, the vaccine had to be re-administered. Mr King said very few products were licensed to be used together because of the massive workload involved in testing all possible combinations.
"....we know that flukicides have an effect on an animal's liver. As liver function is important in generating immunity, giving a flukicide at the same time as a vaccine could mean that the vaccine doesn't work as it should." In addition to reading the administration information, Mr King recommended discussing vaccination with a vet and planning ahead in order to adapt management plans. As well as information online at www.farmersguardian.com/bluetongue, meetings are also being staged around the country. .. "
Read the Farmers Guardian article in full.

June 13 2008 ~ OIE booklet on Bluetongue in Northern Europe

The scientific booklet describing Bluetongue is described as being " of great utility for veterinarians and animal health professionals in the framework of an early detection of Bluetongue and other emerging diseases." It can be ordered online from the OIE

June 12 2008 ~ "English colleagues show that it is very difficult to isolate infectious virus from these calves," says Van Rijn

Another interesting article by Mariska Vermaas in www.agd.nl quotes CIDC-Lelystad Department of Virology's Piet A. van Rijn, PhD:
"The fact that there no new infections have been found may be because the calves take in colostrum after birth and are this protected against bluetongue. How long this maternal protection lasts, we don't know yet. But it will certainly play a role in the transfer of the virus... The longer there are no new cases, the greater chance of success that the vaccination campaign can prevent the spread of the virus by blocking it. More and more animals are going to be fully protected by vaccination ..."
Optimism that the vaccination campaign has been put in place in time seems to be gaining ground in the Netherlands, as here. We continue to fear for Germany however - and of course it is essential that Northern Europe works together on its vaccine campaign.

June 12 2008 ~ consensus for the possible vertical and horizontal transmission of BTV during "vector-free period"

One expert comments on extracts from papers given at the symposium on Bluetongue in Brescia last week:
"... what the presentations say to me is that animals should not be moved from infected areas - not in the early winter even if the vector has become inactive. ...we are moving further and further away from using the vector-free period as a definitive risk-free measure.
It does put the EU in a bind because their main objective has been to keep trade routes open and to compel still uninfected Member States to keep their doors open to the continued movement of livestock. Is this the reason why some countries are beginning to mouth the words: "We are endemic"?.."

June 12 2008 ~ Welsh Assembly has today announced that they will allow the movement of animals from the English PZ direct to slaughter to designated slaughterhouses in the Welsh Free Area. See movement licence page.

Minor amendments have been made to current licences to reflect this. There is no news yet (midday) on the DEFRA site of the "further information" said to be "likely to be available by 12 June."

June 11 2008 ~ UK now has two suppliers and Merial is delighted with the order.

Merial's Head of Production Animal Business, Graham Davenport:
"We are delighted to have received this order from Defra and we will be working hard to ensure there is continuity of supply for farmers in England and Wales. All Merial's bluetongue vaccines, world-wide, start their life at our Pirbright Vaccines Centre in Surrey before being finished in Lyon, France. So it is particularly pleasing for us to have gained business here in the UK. This adds to previous bluetongue vaccine orders, beginning back in 2004, from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
We will start to deliver vaccine to England and Wales in July; in the meantime we will be putting in place the necessary veterinary technical support."
(Intervet were not being overlooked or passed over here. They were not in the tender at all, having a heavy commitment already and genuinely determined that promised doses should be delivered as soon as possible.)

June 11 2008 ~ 13 million more doses for England and Wales

Defra has today announced that it is placing an order with Merial to deliver 13 million doses of Bluetongue serotype 8 vaccine, eight million for use in England and five million for use in Wales. The batch of vaccine which was due in the week on 2 June is still undergoing further testing before it can be released. Please see the link provided for additional information. www.defra.gov.uk/news We hope for more news about expanding the Protection Zone some time tomorrow.
Farming UK quotes JAB (for JAB organisations see below)
"This is excellent news as it means we will now have sufficient vaccine to cover the whole of England. This will allow farmers to protect their own livestock against the devastating bluetongue disease. When we started the process of looking at vaccine supply we thought it would take most of this year to secure sufficient vaccine supplies. However, despite recent delays in vaccine release, the process has so far exceeded expectations and to be in a position of having sufficient vaccine for the whole of England by September is extremely good news."

June 11 2008 ~ flukicides and wormers.

The information about what you can and can't use with the vaccine is (as we say below) all on here: http://www.bluetongue-info.co.uk/FAQs.asp (Click on question 22 and it should give the information.) "Admittedly," says our correspondent, "they have not put it on those data sheets so I would presume it is up to the vet to clarify the position with other vaccines, but as you rightly say the information is not exactly well known. We can only hope that not too many people have made the same error."

June 11 2008 ~ Fuel strikes stop vaccination in Germany

We understand that owing to an indefinite strike of lorry drivers in France, Portugal and Spain, the next lot of BT vaccine for Germany can't be distributed. No one can say at the moment how long the delivery will be delayed - and there seem no plans afoot to use alternative means of transport. One frustrated farmer in Germany, well aware that in some cases politicians use plane travel for their private use, writes, "I am wondering why the Government doesn't send a plane, usually our Ministers are flying around the world wasting taxpayers' money....." For those who read German, see www.oberberg-aktuell.de

June 10 2008 ~ Agrarisch Dagblad on the rapid spread of BTV-8 compared to bluetongue in North America.

Mariska Vermass writing in the agrarisch Dagblad says "Scientists have however no idea what is the cause of this difference." 200 scientists at a meeting in Brescia in Italy have established that serotype 8 behaves in a significantly different way from other BT-types. It spreads faster and has other ‘idiosyncrasies' like virus transfer from mother to the embryo. Many thanks to the European Livestock Association for the link.

June 8 2008 ~ Vaccine is in short supply. The vector free period is now over.

"The Dutch agriculture ministry has ordered a million extra units of bluetongue vaccine to meet overwhelming demand." Radio Netherlands reports that "More and more farmers are ordering the vaccine to protect their livestock. The ministry hopes that as many farmers as possible will have vaccinated their animals before mid July, when the virus is most likely to rear its head. ..."
Vaccine is in short supply. ProMed commented on June 1 that "the vector season seems to have already started in the continent." As we said on Feb 7, using only one vaccine producer has drawbacks. Batch failures can happen - which seems to be the case at the moment with the latest batch to the UK. It is essential to reach the percentage coverage necessary to halt the disease - but at present, as DEFRA says, it has become impossible "to expand the Protection Zone in line with our previous announcement on 23 May and the published vaccination roll-out plan..." .

June 7 2008 ~ 136 holdings now....

DEFRA says, "The most recent cases were found as a result of pre-movement testing during the vector-free period." And as an emailer says,
"Six more holdings since the last update, location unknown... Since February there are still 26 cases under investigation. How long does it take to confirm Bluetongue?"
DEFRA is also "continuing to work closely with Intervet on determining the availability of the next batches of vaccine and the impact that this will have on the roll-out of vaccination. As soon as further batches of vaccine are available, we will continue to expand the Protection Zone in line with our previous announcement on 23 May and the published vaccination roll-out plan. Further information is likely to be available by 12 June, and a further announcement will be made on the basis of that information." There is still, it seems, "an issue" with an individual batch of the Intervet vaccine "which requires further investigation".

June 6 2008~ "I'm not sure exactly who should have told me. "

The Farmers Guardian reports that some farmers who have vaccinated against bluetongue at the same time as using flukicides or wormers, are now going to have to re-vaccinate. An information sheet on Intervet's website www.bluetongue-info.co.uk/control/bovilis-btv8.asp confirms the vaccine ‘has not been tested for safety or efficacy when used at the same time as any other products' but the advice that vaccination against bluetongue should not take place at the same time as the use of other vaccines, flukicides and injectable wormers cannot be seen (today at any rate) on the data sheet page. The FG quotes a sheep farmer in Appledore, Kent, after she discovered she would have to revaccinate."It is appalling that I wasn't told. I'm not sure exactly who should have told me but you can bet there will be other farmers out there who have made the same mistake." As we report below, Eblex has set up a website to help farmers with vaccination, offering ‘how to' guides and a checklist. The relevant DEFRA page says " It is essential that the data sheet requirements with regard to storage temperature are strictly adhered to at all times" and one hopes that farmers do read the data page carefully - but there are no specific warnings on the DEFRA page about avoiding using other vaccines or wormers at the same time.

June 4 2008 ~ Germany opts for CZV of Spain to supply 14.8 million doses of BLUEVAC-8

Animal Health online: "This vaccine will be employed in a blanket vaccination campaign that will cover all 12.2 million cows and 3.7 million sheep and goats throughout Germany. BLUEVAC-8 is an inactivated vaccine against the serotype 8..." BLUEVAC-8 has also been delivered to the veterinary services of Spain where vaccination will start soon. (CZV is a European manufacturer of veterinary vaccines and immunological products with connections to Wellcome Foundation. Their products are used in over 40 countries. In addition to their BLUEVAC range of bluetongue vaccines, their most recent development is the vaccine SILIRUM, against Bovine Johne's Disease.)

June 3 2008 ~ DEFRA ".. the batch of vaccine which was due this week needs to undergo further testing before it can be released"

See DEFRA website : ".. This is an issue with an individual batch which requires further investigation....The extension of the Protection Zone which we were expecting to make, subject to the delivery of vaccine, will therefore no longer be going ahead this week (beginning 2 June). ....Further to the update on 30 May regarding the roll-out of vaccination into Cornwall and the Restricted Zone in Wales, the batch of vaccine which was due this week needs to undergo further testing before it can be released.... There are no concerns with the production process, or with vaccine that has been delivered to this date. ...As soon as further batches of vaccine are available, we will continue to expand the Protection Zone in line with the published vaccination roll-out plan. A further announcement will be made when more information is available."

June 3 2008 ~ Deer at a Kent woodland have been vaccinated

Kent online reports that a dart gun loaded with a vaccination was aimed on the herds of red, fallow and roe deer at the Wildwood conservation park in Herne Common, Herne Bay.
"...Head keeper Paul Wirdnam said: "We normally try to do this type of thing when the park is closed. But with so many animals we had to do the vaccination with members of the public watching, which once we explained what we were doing drew quite a crowd."

June 2 2008 ~ Vaccination against bluetongue is expected to begin today in in the current restricted zone in south-east Wales

The Welsh Assembly Government intends to declare a protection zone in the in the current restricted zone in south-east Wales. Under the present and unfortunate EU law, vaccination can only take place in a Protection Zone, and a protection zone can be designated only if bluetongue is found to be circulating in an area or if an area borders a protection zone. There are no plans to change the zoning of the rest of Wales yet.

June 2008 ~ FAQs - Intervet website

A guide on vaccinating. You click on the question to reveal the answer. Example:
3. Why is vaccine only available in the protection zone?
EU law states that vaccine can only be used in a PZ so Defra are only releasing vaccine for use in that area. However they will constantly expand the PZ as vaccine is used over the summer until all of England is covered.
http://www.bluetongue-info.co.uk/FAQs.asp (new window)

May 30 2008 ~"culls would take place at the centre of an outbreak" ???

The assumption appears to linger - in Northumberland at least - that infected animals are automatically killed. A Councillor is quoted in the Hexham Courant today warning that animals could be "trapped on farms",
"although culls would only take place at the centre of an outbreak..."
One can only hope that the misguided, ill-informed and battle inspired language of officialdom in 2001 is not resurfacing. Animals may be put down if their suffering is great but "culled" is entirely the wrong word - and the point of vaccinating is to avoid animals being infected or "trapped" in the first place. Isn't it "the responsibility of the county council's animal health team" to offer encouragement and support to farmers to vaccinate as soon as they can - rather than "to enforce any restrictions imposed by Defra" or "liaise with Defra and put a firm action plan in place"? The article also unfortunately seems to imply that bluetongue vaccination can start when the area is declared a surveillance zone - but the EU Directive explicitly prohibits this.*

May 30 2008 ~ Successful vaccination will protect stock and livelihoods

*Unfortunately, the ill-thought out EU rule of restricting vaccine to areas already infected - the "Protection Zone" - remains, and is one of the main reasons for the NBA petition. The very essence of a vaccination policy is to leave the virus nowhere to go and that means vaccinating all ruminants as far as is humanly possible. Restricting vaccination to areas where infection has already been found is like trying to catch a burglar in a house with all its doors and windows wide open.

May 30 2008 ~ What about camelids?

The Suffolk Free Press reports that about 100 alpacas have been vaccinated against Bluetongue at the Melford Green Alpaca Centre. Its owner is quoted: "We would encourage all other camelid owners to follow suit to ensure that we give the whole of the livestock sector every help we can to minimise the risks from this potentially debilitating virus."
The UK herd now stands at around 16,000 animals - but it is growing rapidly as alpacas are increasingly seen as a viable alternative farming enterprise and more people are keeping them as pets. Nick Blayney, President of the British Veterinary Society, one of the JAB organisations, said recently,
"Our aim has been to achieve the mass vaccination of Bluetongue susceptible animals, including goats and camelids and since the veterinary profession is the corner stone of the vaccination programme, with responsibility for vaccine delivery, proper usage and monitoring for efficacy, BVA has been in overdrive through much of March and April trying to ensure that vets were fully up to speed in advance of the arrival of the vaccine. Now that the vaccine is here, having been granted a provisional marketing authorisation for use inside Protection Zones and classified as a POM-V, we have further updated our advice to the profession. Our one-page summary sets out key considerations for vets including meeting the "under our care" prescribing requirements, movement controls, doses, off-label use, distribution and storage and communication in the hopefully unlikely event of any suspected adverse reactions."
The BVA one-page summary can be seen here (pdf)

May 27 2008 ~ EBLEX online ‘how to' guide on Bluetongue vaccination for beef and sheep producers.

A three sided leaflet, a practical guide to bluetongue vaccination, has been produced by www.eblex.org.uk and can be downloaded and printed. (Pdf file here)

May 26 2008 ~ Current Protection Zone map

Warmwell.com is keeping pace with the changing shape of the zones. You can see the progression of maps, including the latest, (May 26 now updated) here. See also the declaration (PDF) that came into force today at 06:00am .

May 26 2008 ~ Wales will vaccinate in a week's time but supplies could be low

The Welsh Rural Affairs Minister, Elin Jones, has announced that vaccination will begin in South-East Wales in a week's time, subject to the delivery of the vaccine and there being no "unforeseen developments" in the spread of the disease.
icWales quotes Gwilym Vaughan, president of the Farmers' Union of Wales:
"Around 7.5 million doses of the vaccine have so far been ordered. But I expect that double that number - around 15 million doses - will be required across Wales."
It does seem rather extraordinary that Wales asked initially for only 2.5 million doses of the 22.5 million tendered for by England back in December. At the time, Elin Jones had said," I am determined that we have resources available to us should they be required."
The amount of vaccine ordered has now been acknowledged to have been too little. 2.5 million could not have covered even the pedigree flocks of Wales, let alone the commercial ones and the cattle. On May 7, 13 million more was tendered for by DEFRA - and this included 5 million more for Wales. Even so, as Mr Vaughan says, there is unlikely to be enough vaccine to go round if an effective level of coverage is to be quickly achieved.

May 23 2008 ~ "from my point of view I have to congratulate the UK, the zones will be extended again and vaccine is available..."

DEFRA has announced that from May 26 the Protection Zone will be extended to cover all of Devon (including the Unitary Authorities of Plymouth and Torbay). The Surveillance Zone is unaffected. On current plans, (which are subject to the overall disease situation), the Protection Zone will be further extended in the week beginning 2 June when Cornwall, the East Riding of Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, the District of Selby, Warwickshire and Gloucestershire (including the Unitary Authority of South Gloucestershire) to all to be brought into the Protection Zone. The Welsh Assembly Government will also declare the current Restricted Zone in Wales a Protection Zone. See DEFRA website
An email from Germany says,
"We haven't seen any vaccine yet in our region; first delivery for sheep is planned for May 30th and for cattle at the end of JUNE. Second vaccination (cattle) is planned for the end of July. For certain regions (lower Rhine valley) it has already been leaked that not enough vaccine has been ordered.... The "competent" authorities are not competent at all."
We agree. The UK situation is being well handled at the moment for which much thanks must go to the Joint Campaign Against Bluetongue (JAB) group and to those with common sense who are helping to advise DEFRA.

May 23 2008 ~ New Chief Vet

A new Chief Vet has taken up the post. MeatInfo.co.uk informed readers yesterday that "Nigel Gibbens has been appointed the new chief veterinary officer (CVO) by Defra...." The MeatInfo site quotes Mr Gibbens: "...... The Government will increasingly develop policy on disease control in partnership with key stakeholders and I am committed to ensuring that those decisions are founded on the best possible veterinary advice."
The news appeared on the DEFRA website with a short biographical note yesterday.
We wish Mr Gibbens the best of success with the job. All the same, one cannot help remembering the comment below from Professor Joe Brownlie in a recent Farmers Guardian article: "The powers of the chief veterinary officer have diminished so severely in the face of a high level of accountability that the position no longer holds its previous lure..."
Nigel Gibbens was born in 1958. His latest published work includes papers on BSE (see lib.bioinfo.pl) (More)

May 22 2008 ~ "Bovilis® BTV8 The data below is specific to the United Kingdom..."

The Intervet website on Bluetongue has a page devoted to its vaccine. Extract from data page: "Bovilis® BTV8 is an inactivated vaccine containing per dose (1 ml) at least 500 Antigenic Units/ml of Bluetongue Virus Serotype 8 prior to inactivation. Aluminium hydroxide and Saponin are included as adjuvants.
Uses
To stimulate active immunity against Bluetongue Virus Serotype 8 in cattle and sheep to reduce viraemia.
Onset of immunity: 3 weeks after vaccination.
Duration of immunity: Not yet established." Read in full (new window)

May 19 2008 ~ Bluetongue Protection Zone was extended again at six o'clock this morning

following the delivery of an additional three million doses of Bluetongue vaccine. See current zone map page

May 19 2008 ~ 12 per cent cut back in Defra funding affects vital animal health work in Mid Wales.

Mick Bates is quoted in the Farmers Guardian saying that he has written to Hilary Benn to point out that the cuts seriously compromise animal health work:
"In light of the recent outbreaks of foot-and-mouth and further outbreaks of bluetongue and avian flu being anticipated, this is clearly a key area which must be safeguarded. A 12 per cent cut has resulted in a loss of some 335,000 to the Powys local authority for 2007-08 and the Trading Standards Service has also received confirmation that the level of funding for animal health work in 2008-09 will be the same as that provided for the current financial year." Read in full
The unnecessary killing of the dairy herds (see opposite page) because of a TB test known to be far too blunt an instrument cost about £100,000. The lost funding that will cause such problems for those responsible for animal health in Mid Wales amounts to about £35,000

May 18 2008 ~ "Vaccination of animals kept for breeding will reduce the chance of infected calves during the following season"

We are most grateful for the translations of the agrarische Dagblad article below that have been sent to warmwell.com. As one emailer remarks, "....the part of the story with the antibodies and newly born calves being a source of infection beats me. If the antibodies clear the virus, where does the infectivity come from ? Does this indicate that maternal antibodies can prevent overt clinical signs but are not strong enough to prevent virus replication? I really would like to know, maybe Ruth (Watkins) has an idea."
Also, a much respected expert adds, "Warmwell's translation is OK. Agrarisch Dagblad added the obvious - namely that 34 calves are 15% and that the calves were infected during pregnancy. They add that vaccination of cows (before?) breeding could diminish the risk of inefected-calves born during the next season." The translations sent to us can be read here. Very many thanks to those who took so much trouble. It is very much appreciated.

May 17 2008 ~ Unborn calves can be infected with bluetongue from the mother-cow - says agrarisch Dagblad

The article in today's agrarisch Dagblad (in Dutch) discusses research at the central veterinary institute (CVI) and the health service for animals (GD) which took place after pregnant cows, exported to Northern Ireland, (see below) gave birth to calves born with bluetongue. Our unchecked translation (help would be most appreciated) seems to suggest that in the course of the research, calves born to 400 cow after 1 January in the midge-free periods were examined. 221 of the cows had antibodies against bluetongue. 34 calves were found to have the virus. A clear translation would be most appreciated. UPDATE Several translations were immediately sent - for which many thanks.

May 17 2008 ~ It is likely that the current restricted zone in south east Wales could be declared a Protection Zone within weeks.

This is the view of Gareth Vaughan, president of the Farmers Union of Wales and reported in Farming Weekly. The article says that vaccination in Wales is likely to start within weeks. "The warning came following a meeting between key industry stakeholders and Christianne Glossop, the chief veter