GovWire

Guidance: Bluetongue: how to spot and report it

Animal Plant Health Agency

February 12
17:12 2024

Bluetongue affects:

  • sheep
  • cattle
  • other ruminants such as deer and goats
  • camelids such as llamas and alpacas

Rarely, bluetongue can affect dogs and other carnivores if they eat infected material (such as aborted material and afterbirth).

It does not affect people or food safety, but outbreaks can result in prolonged animal movement and trade restrictions.

Latest situation and disease control zones

There are 99 bluetongue cases in England on 55 premises in 3 counties. There is still no evidence that bluetongue virus is currently circulating in midges in Great Britain.

Check if youre in a zone on the?bluetongue disease control zone map.

All bluetongue disease control zones

A number of different types (serotypes) of bluetongue are circulating in Europe including:

  • BTV-1
  • BTV-3
  • BTV-4
  • BTV-8

In Great Britain, bluetongue serotype 3 (BTV-3) has been found in Kent, Suffolk and Norfolk.

To minimise the spread of disease, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is placing temporary control zones (TCZs) around premises with infected animals.

The TCZ may be extended if further cases are identified.

Finddetails of all bluetongue disease control zones in England, including rules you must follow in these areas.

Bluetongue has been reported in a number of European countries. Go to thecurrentoutbreak assessmentsand thetopical issues pagefor more detail.

You should discuss the risks ofimporting stock fromBTVaffected countrieswith your vet.

Movement licences

You can only move animals into, out of or within a TCZ if you meet licence conditions.

Specific movement licences

You can apply for a specific movement licence for the following moves:

  • free area into theTCZ(this includes moves from a market direct to a premises or slaughterhouse in the TCZ)
  • TCZto go direct to slaughter at a designated slaughterhouse in the free area (this includes multiple pick-ups from inside the zone)
  • TCZ to a premises in the free area subject to a negative pre-movement test (this includes moves to a market)
  • if theres an urgent and genuine welfare need to move animals

The application guidance includes:

  • how to apply for a specific licence
  • the types of movements covered by specific licences
  • slaughterhouses that accept animals fromTCZs

General movement licences

In addition to specific licences, there are a small number of time limited general licences.

General licences allow a movement or activity that would otherwise be prohibited in a TCZ.

You need to check that you meet and comply with the conditions of the general licence. If you do, you do not need to apply for a specific licence. You can rely on the general licence as providing authority for the movement or activity.

General licences are not applicable for moving anything to or from premises that have been served a restriction notice by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA). These general licences will only be available during the seasonal vector low period.

The following general licences are available in England:

Surveillance visits in temporary control zones

APHA is carrying out surveillance visits on premises with susceptible animals in the temporary control zones. This includes zoos and wildlife centres.

On a surveillance visit, they will:

  • check records
  • inspect susceptible animals and may take blood samples

Lambs and kids under 12 weeks and calves under 7 days old will be inspected. They will only be sampled if the dam tests positive.

APHA will contact you in advance to schedule a visit and confirm stock numbers. You must assist APHA with sampling by:

  • gathering up the animals
  • providing handling facilities for safe sampling

If your animal tests positive, APHA will notify you within 48 hours of taking samples. This will be before they make the case public.

Most infected animals will not be culled when the risk of disease spreading through midges is low. Instead you will need to restrict infected animals at their locations and take disease mitigation measures. If infected animals are culled to reduce the risk of disease transmission you will receive compensation.

If a case of bluetongue is confirmed on your premises, APHA will also:

  • check any unsampled animals you own at all locations (even if they are outside of the TCZ)
  • monitor negative animals and retest them if needed
  • test offspring of positive animals
  • place all other susceptible animals at the affected premises under movement restrictions until they can confirm that no transmission has occurred
  • trace and sample any animals moved from the holding where any positive animals were

APHA will not notify you of negative results. If you have not received notification within a week, you can assume results are negative.

Signs of bluetongue

If you keep livestock, you must continue to keep a close watch for, and report, any suspicion of bluetongue disease in your animals.

In sheep

Sheep are more likely to show obvious clinical signs of bluetongue than cattle if they become infected. Signs of bluetongue in sheep include:

  • ulcers or sores in the mouth and nose
  • discharge from the eyes or nose and drooling from mouth
  • swelling of the lips, tongue, head and neck and the coronary band (where the skin of the leg meets the horn of the foot)

Other clinical signs include:

  • red skin as a result of blood collecting beneath the surface
  • fever
  • lameness
  • breathing problems
  • abortion, foetal deformities and stillbirths
  • death

In lambs

Lambs can become infected with bluetongue before birth if the dam is infected while pregnant. Signs of infection include:

  • lambs born small, weak, deformed or blind
  • death of lambs within a few days of birth
  • stillbirths

Livestock keepers and vets should consider bluetongue as a possible cause and report suspicion to APHA immediately.

In cattle

Signs of the disease include:

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