04/08/2026
FOR OUR FARMING CLIENTS: BLUETONGUE VIRUS UPDATE from Briar Vets Ltd
This is a disease update to remind owners of Sheep, Cattle, Goats and Camelids that Bluetongue is severely affecting livestock farmers in the UK with widespread distribution of cases, mainly in the South West stretching up into Wales, West England and up into North West England.
As a practice we cover farms in West and South Yorkshire and into North Derbyshire. We have not had any confirmed cases ourselves. The closest confirmed cases have been in Derbyshire, Greater Manchester and Lancashire.
We do need owners with animals showing suspicious signs to report them to us and to APHA (this is a legal requirement as it is a notifiable disease).
Signs to look for are: Ulcers, sores and crusting of mouth, nose and teats
Drooling and discharges from nose or eyes
Swelling of lips, tongue, head or neck
Lameness and swelling above hooves
Fever
Lethargy, stopping eating and breathing noisily
Abortion, birth defects, stillbirths and dummy calves
Sheep found dead
These symptoms are shared with many other illnesses which is why it is important to speak to your vet.
Up to 70% of affected sheep are dying in spite of treatment. Other species are faring better, but cattle farmers may loose out financially through inability of affected groups of animals to breed successfully following apparent recovery.
Treatment is to reduce fever and pain through the illness, but as it is a virus, there is no specific curative medication.
Vaccination prior to risk is the only control. Most of the cases this year have been against type 3 of Bluetongue Virus and is what we are recommending as the best vaccination option. Farmers with valuable stock certainly can consider protection against type 8 as well.
The virus is carried by midges from one animal to another. Antifly on-animal treatments have not prooved effective at all.
Affected animals bitten by midges create swarms of infected vector midges that fly and are blown to other sites and can infect many animals. In Devon, Cornwall and Somerset we have now hundreds of farms and thousands of animals affected. Local veterinary services and the laboratory backup services are becoming exceedingly stretched, to such an extent that, the published data of confirmed cases is now about 3 weeks out of date. There is currently a 2 week backlog in the APHA of samples waiting to be analysed to confirm cases before they can be added to the APHA map of confirmed cases.
Our vaccine supplier is asking us for amounts of vaccine we wish to order so they can provide us with adequate stock. If you are a registered client and wish to discuss vaccination of your animals, please ring us on 01226 766099
The current hotspot information is that there is not enough time is available between the first cases being reported locally to getting vaccine into animals and provide protection. This takes 3 to 5 weeks from the 1st injection.
Infected midge numbers and cases are expected to rise through late summer and into autumn, only being curtailed by lower temperatures later in the year.
Further information on Bluetongue can be found at www.ahdb.org.uk/bluetongue or search Battle Bluetongue.
A current update is available from the worst affected area on facebook from "North Park Vets Farm" who are currently in the thick of it!
Briar Vets Team
