BTV8 vaccination in Scotland
During the 'transmission-free' period over the winter, lower temperatures and decreasing midge activity means that bluetongue cannot be transmitted between animals. Hence unvaccinated animals do not present a risk to the protection of the Scottish livestock population during this time. We expect the transmission-free period, to start at the beginning of November. For this reason, the requirement for young animals to be vaccinated as they come of age was suspended on 25 October.
A General License has been issued permitting a person to vaccinate animals of bluetongue susceptible species against bluetongue, provided the animals to be vaccinated are in the Protection Zone.
As with any notifiable disease, if you suspect that your livestock may be infected with bluetongue, you must contact your local Animal Health Office immediately.
A BTV surveillance exercise will take place this winter across the whole of GB, starting from 1 November and running for approximately one month. It will enable us to get a clearer picture of the BTV8 disease situation, and enable us to detect any potential undetected incursion of new serotypes. The survey will test for all Bluetongue serotypes including BTV1 which is currently circulating in France.
A meeting will be held late in November, to discuss the disease situation in GB and on the continent, its implications for disease risk to Scotland and vaccination arrangements for 2010.
Should the results of the winter surveillance show that there is no circulating virus, it will also take us a step closer to being able to consider officially declaring freedom from disease at some point in the future.
Vaccination in England and Wales
The whole of England and Wales are also in a bluetongue Protection Zone, and vaccination is permitted. Full details of vaccination and the movement licence conditions in England and Wales can be found on the Department for Food and Rural Affairs website ( www.defra.gov.uk/index.htm).