Bluetongue disease serotype 8 first appeared mysteriously in Northern Europe in 2006, with cases being diagnosed in Holland, Belgium, France and Germany during the summer and early autumn. With the disease established in the counties bordering the North Sea last autumn, it was feared that once the weather conditions became favourable this year for the midges to multiply, unless the disease could be stopped, it would spread across England and Wales and into Scotland by October.

Its unchecked spread would be a disastrous blow for the livestock industry as cattle became infected and sheep flocks devastated in the wake of the disease. Defra, realising the seriousness of the situation, took the bold step of encouraging pharmaceutical companies to start work on producing a vaccine by underwriting the production of the first 22,500,000 doses of a vaccine. To Defra’s credit, the UK was the only EU country to have the foresight to do so and credit is also due to the speed with which the vaccine companies switched their facilities to produce the vaccine in the massive quantities required in an amazingly short time. The first batches were produced, tested and licensed on April 1 and the vaccination campaign was under way. A spokesman for the pharmaceutical company Intervet pointed out that nothing like it has ever been achieved before. Once the disease had been diagnosed last autumn, to control its spread, the country was zoned and animal movements strictly limited. Very stringent controls were imposed within the 20km Control Zone (CZ), with a 150km Protection Zone around it, where animals could be moved under certain conditions. But as the disease jumped out of the original zones, those zones were expanded. One of the criteria for livestock movements out of the zones was based on a blood test. Those tests revealed the disease was more widespread than originally thought and both the CZ and PZ zones had to be increased as new cases were discovered.

To make the most efficient use of the vaccine to control the spread of the disease, having consulted the industry, the decision was taken to limit the use of the initial supplies of the vaccine to the control zones, with the intention of increasing the area of those zones as more vaccine became available from the pharmaceutical companies.

Two factors have helped contain the disease in the UK so far this year. The production of the vaccine has exceeded the original estimates and the weather has not been conducive to insect activity. The optimum temperature for the lifecycle of the midges is between 15 and 30 degrees centigrade and their activity is inhibited below 10 degrees and they cannot fly when the wind exceeds 5.5mph. So the cool and often windy wet conditions have reduced the risk factor, but once the temperatures rises, that situation could rapidly change and the potential for the disease to explode across this country as it did across the continent last year poses a very real threat. That threat is the reasoning behind the “JAB – Don’t hesitate, vaccinate” campaign to get farmers to vaccinate all their animals. The JAB campaign is being backed by all sectors of the livestock industry – producers, auctioneers, meat suppliers, the veterinary profession, the NFU, CLA, The National Sheep Association and Advantage West Midlands. Farmers have been asked to order what vaccine they need from their vets so the manufacturers can assess and meet the demand. Unfortunately, there have been some misunderstandings about the need to order before being in a zone where vaccination is allowed. Tragically some farmers working on a false premise that if their neighbours vaccinate their livestock, they will not need to do their own risk jeopardising the scheme. To be effective and to safeguard the livestock industry, it is essential that all farmers immunise all their sheep, goats and cattle as soon as vaccine is available in their area. As vaccine has become available, its use has spread across the country from the original zones and the intention was to make vaccine available in Warwickshire from June 2, but the next batch of vaccine to be produced is smaller than anticipated, so what is available will be used in Cornwall and the restricted zone in South Wales. The NFU West Midlands regional director says the delay is a setback for farmers in the region who are eager to vaccinate their animals against the midge-borne virus, but emphasises the need for farmers to speak to their vets to discuss their vaccine requirements so that they are able to vaccinate their sheep and cattle without further delay as soon as the vaccine becomes available.

Hopefully, it will not be long before the demand for vaccine has been met in Warwickshire, after which the intention is to roll out the eligible zone to include Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, before the campaign moves into Herefordshire and the threat of the disease becoming endemic will have been halted.