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 ~ The Protection Zone will be extended again on Monday 7 July

"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

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. 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 Agarisch 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 Agarische 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 Agarisch Dagblad

The article in today's Agarisch 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 veterinary officer for Wales. It was suggested that too many farmers appeared to be sitting back waiting for the first case to appear to register with their vets for vaccine..." The disease-free status of farms in the rest of Wales would change if an actual case of bluetongue be confirmed within or near the border and farmers who have not registered with a vet for vaccine would risk being left out. Mr Vaughan said. "Those within the current restricted zone may only have a very short time to do this before vaccination starts," he said.

May 16 2008 ~ " a real chance of holding the disease in the Eastern counties" - provided there is blanket vaccination

The Farmers Guardian today reports on what was said at the Reaseheath meeting in Cheshire, organised by the Nantwich Veterinary Groups' Neil Howie, with support from and Intervet and Boehringer Animal Health:
"...European farmers ...expecting another devastating year.....as some of the repercussions of last year's wildfire spread of bluetongue, such as abortions, defective progeny and continuing reduced performance, became apparent. ....
Independent sheep consultant Chris Lewis believed there was a real chance of holding the disease in the Eastern counties, where it had been identified, provided each of the 127 infected premises vaccinated rapidly along with blanket vaccination on farms in the area, and ultimately a minimum 80-85 per cent uptake of vaccination throughout the whole Protection Zone. However, the window of opportunity for holding the disease at bay had come about more by circumstance than pro-active management by Defra...."The veterinary profession has argued unsuccessfully to get Defra to seek a derogation allowing the UK to create a ‘Vaccination Zone' before it became a Protection Zone, so giving immunity chance to develop. Therefore, there remains a potential risk of the disease getting ahead of the vaccination programme.."
Read article

May 16 2008 ~ "success depends on vaccine supply and speed of applying it..."

The Reuters report, Bluetongue animal vaccination starts in most of EU says, "..... Some countries, like Belgium, Luxembourg and the Czech Republic, have made their entire national territories subject to compulsory vaccination for certain animal categories.....In heavily infected areas, the situation will be better than last year as most of the adult population was infected last year and is better protected now," the official said, adding that newborn animals were still at risk if not vaccinated quickly. ...
..... some crossover, especially in France, and this has worried many experts. "There are problems in France with serotype 1 ... ...areas are crossing and they don't have much vaccine. Britain is about the only country with enough vaccine...It's all about timing ... and there are still a lot of animals out there that won't have had the disease last year." Read article

May 16 2008 ~ "a logistical nightmare to get them back in, in batches, to vaccinate cows and their calves when these are at the "right" age"

A farmer highly relieved to have vaccinated 180 sheep on the 14th May (having taken delivery of the vaccine from the vet on Tuesday 6th May) writes,
"Although I feel relieved that my sheep are now protected and the danger to our livestock is receding, at least in my area l know of some livestock keepers who will not vaccinate - their cattle are out on rented grazing and it is for these people a logistical nightmare to get them back in, in batches, to vaccinate cows and their calves when these are at the "right" age. Let's hope these are isolated cases."
Even so, a sense of relief and optimism is becoming more evident. On the subject of the logistics of vaccination for that particular farmer correspondent we read: "The whole operation went smoothly and the Intervet injector gun works extremely well - sadly only on the 50ml bottles. The rest had to be done by using individual syringes and being meticulous with the dosing..... My usual sources tell me that the Protection zone will shift outwards quite quickly now - as the following batches arrive DEFRA will extend the zone. Given the cold March and April I personally do not think that an outbreak of Bluetongue is imminent and it is worth remembering that the Netherlands and Belgium announced the end of the vector free season only on April 22nd"

May 16 2008 ~ DEFRA reports the PZ will be extended again on Monday

DEFRA website: ".....the Protection Zone will be extended to cover all of Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Wiltshire and Somerset. The Surveillance Zone is unaffected. Livestock keepers in the Protection Zone should contact their private vet to place an order. The message is clear "Don't hesitate, vaccinate". Livestock keepers may apply to have land which they occupy within 8km of the Bluetongue Surveillance Zone to be designated as part of that zone. Further information..."

May 14 2008 ~ Record lamb prices at Shrewsbury. Can vaccination save UK farming?

According to Farming Today, there were record lamb prices for the stock at Shrewsbury yesterday. "This is due to Bluetongue", writes a farming correspondent to warmwell. "The continental buyers are in the UK because of shortages at home, because of Bluetongue." He writes, "If we can vaccinate ours in time and salvage our industry..... Yes, Alan Beat is correct to say they had no alternative to vaccinate, it's just that we pushed for it to happen sooner, quicker and bigger than DEFRA et al would have managed without Stakeholder 'support'..."

May 13 2008 ~ Appeal for bluetongue protection zone status 'as soon as possible' in Wales

icWales quotes the Welsh Rural Affairs Minister, Elin Jones
"Under current EU regulations, we have to wait for the English protection zone to reach the Welsh border before a protection zone can be declared in Wales.... I am seeking DEFRA's co-operation in ensuring that the protection zone reaches Wales as early as possible in the summer to allow vaccination to begin in Wales...."
Dai Davies, NFU Cymru president is also quoted: "NFU Cymru has been pressing the minister for some time to tender for a further supply of vaccine which would add to the initial 2.5 million doses which had been secured for Wales. "The requisition of a further five million doses increases the total available to Wales to 7.5 million and will put us in good stead for rolling out the vaccination strategy in Wales once we are permitted to use it. I urge those farmers who have not yet registered to reserve bluetongue vaccine with their local veterinary practice to do so immediately so as to ensure they are not left at the back of the queue. Farmers should not procrastinate but they should be prepared to vaccinate."

May 11 2008 ~ "In the absence of any response from The Scotsman.."

On May 2 Dan Buglass in the Scotsman implied that farmers in Scotland support the wait-and-see policy on vaccination. The National Beef Association of Scotland wrote to the paper to point out inaccuracies - as Dr James Irvine on land-care.org.uk writes today:
"... on May 4th in which it attempted to put the record straight. In the absence of any response from The Scotsman, NBAS was informed that its letter had not been passed on to the appropriate editors. The letter was then resubmitted to the Scotsman on May 6th..."
There has still been no response. The Scottish order for 12 million doses is not due to be completed until late June (the exact delivery date not known) - but there is little evidence that the risk of bluetongue reaching Scotland before then is low. In essence, the NBAS letter points out that considerations of EU trade have overriden the humans and veterinary good sense of protecting Scottish livestock and its farmers. The letter concludes the subject should not be not used by certain members of the farming community " to score points against others within that community who are trying their best to remedy the basic flaw in how viral diseases of livestock are controlled through inappropriate EC regulation".

May 10 ~ Report of the National Emergency Epidemiology Group 18 April 2008 [Revised 30 April]

The epidemiological report can be read here in full, is clearly written and has particularly useful graphs and maps. All the same, it does not pretend to be a wholly complete report.
Report (pdf) extract:
"....The statements in this report are based on the best available evidence. It is important to note that this evidence is far from complete for a full epidemiological analysis, and that much of the data used was collected for purposes other than this analysis.... suggests that BTV at a level greater than an individual animal is contained within PZ1 .....indicates that level of BTV in PZ2 is substantially different from PZ1, and that BTV is not widespread in PZ2.... evidence also indicates uncertainty around the precise extent of herd level infection (here defined as more than 1 animal on a holding affected) beyond the current western and northern boundaries of PZ1. If such infection exists it could provide a focus for recrudescence of BTV in 2008.
78. Note that the evidence available was not collected for the purposes of this analysis and in consequence a number of important assumptions, and estimates to replace missing data have been made. These add to the uncertainty over the extent of BTV in GB."
Full report (pdf)

May 9 ~ Declaration and changes to the Zones come into force on the 12 May 2008 at 06:00.

The new map can be seen on our zonemap page (new window) The whole declaration pdf is on the DEFRA website here "... The Protection Zones will be merged by extending the zones into all of Hampshire and West Sussex. The Protection Zone will also be extended into all of Lincolnshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire. The Surveillance Zone is unaffected. A further 1 million doses of vaccine, available in 50 dose bottles, are available for use in the Protection Zone today. Livestock keepers in the areas coming into the Protection Zone on Monday will be able to obtain vaccine from that date..."
At Tuesday's Bluetongue stakeholder meeting
"...The Commission had not yet indicated any intention to allow vaccination outside a PZ, although it was thinking about the issues. Defra and the Core Group were both confident that the roll-out strategy enabled the risks of expanding the PZ to be properly mitigated, as vaccine would be released into each expansion of the PZ."
It was unfortunate that there were technical problems with the telephone conferencing equipment, which meant dial-in attendees were unable to participate.

May 9 ~ The Netherlands: No Dutch vet = No Dutch vaccines

Bureaucracy and animal health don't mix - and not just in the UK. Today in Agrarisch Dagblad we read with great concern that farmers in the regions bordering Germany and Belgium with a non-Dutch vet cannot apply for vaccination. These borders farmers will have to wait for the German and/or Belgian campaign. According to a spokesman from the Dutch Ministry, this had been known from the start. Farmers in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen particularly, often have a Belgian vet. When these farmers vaccinate with ‘foreign' vaccines they will still be able to apply for financial compensation in the Netherlands,- but only if they fill out the necessary registration forms - and only once the vaccination campaigns in the countries with which they share a border have begun their own campaigns.
UPDATE In the Netherlands the first suspected case of BTV in 2008 is under investigation. A sheep in Welsum showed clinical signs consistent with Bluetongue infection and has been euthanized. Blood samples have been taken and laboratory confirmation is awaited http://olst-wijhe.nieuws.nl/773929/Verdachte_gevallen_van_blauwtong_dienen_zich_al_weer_aan

May 9 ~ Sheep farmers not impressed by odd advice to delay vaccination in sheep

In answer to the somewhat odd advice given by Piet Vellema of the privatised Dutch Animal Health Service (as mentioned below) farmers in Holland are not impressed. They are quoted:
"We will vaccinate as soon as we can. We don't want a repetition of last year. If necessary we will vaccinate in autumn again at our own costs, it will cost less than a new outbreak."
(See Ag Dagblad Schapenhouders wachten niet bewust met vaccinatie) We hear that Piet Vellema later said that he had been wrongly quoted . He had meant, apparently, that now that we have enough vaccines in May those with sheep should not have to fight over vaccine now, they can vaccinate in June as well. This is not how the advice came across and it must have alarmed many.

May 8/9 2008 ~ Are we in danger of forgetting that the reason to vaccinate is to prevent BTV 8 infection, to prevent BTV 8 from spreading further?

The question of young stock and the advisability of getting them all vaccinated is a serious question which evidently needs to be resolved. We hear that one vet was reportedly so confused that he insisted on vaccinating a cow proven to have already had a BTV infection and illness. Totally unnecessary. The antigen will have no effect on her, and the owner can only hope she will not now get an abscess from the adjuvants (she may still be immuno-suppressed). But the same vet insisted on not vaccinating any calf below one month of age because of the lack of "permission" to do so. Are the young under one month not to be vaccinated by law? In the case of sheep this will mean thousands of susceptible lambs When, then, may one to do all the unvaccinated lambs, and identify them? As one farmer writes,
" All mine have one ear tag though some have lost it already and it would take hours to go through them individually, weekly? Am I to wait until the last lamb is one month old before I do my lambs? One normally divides them into groups of twins singles or triplets etc not on the basis of age. However I won't be allowed to vaccinate until this part of Wales is declared a protection zone."
Yet Northern Europe knows to its cost that anti-midge treatments don't work and the only option against BTV 8 is as near 100% vaccination as is possible.
Dr Ruth Watkins (below) has written authoritatively about all this. Knowledgeable farmers at least are choosing to go ahead and vaccinate their very young animals. It is heartening to hear that one livestock editor has vaccinated all his lambs - some down to 2 days of age - without ill effect.

May 8/9 2008 ~Defra has today announced that the Bluetongue Protection Zones will be extended and merged on Monday 12 May

following the delivery of additional doses of Bluetongue vaccine. An epidemiology report on the distribution of Bluetongue infection in Great Britain has also been published. Both the news release and the report are available on the Defra website at: www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases .

May 8 2008 ~ "not all farmers have ordered the BTV vaccine, especially those with large herds and conservation grazing and without access to mobile crushes"

The farmer and virologist, Ruth Watkins, is concerned that vaccination levels of 80% are most unlikely to be reached this year.
"... You can see if they do get round to vaccinating the adults they may not get round to vaccinating the calves at a later date, or wait to vaccinate the whole herd at a later date.
Most kids and lambs are born in Spring so they will be of age now to vaccinate. Cattle not only calve in the Spring, but also during the Summer and autumn. In fact even in my sister's herd 20% of animals will remain non-immune this Summer because of the delay in vaccination of calves. In addition to the non-vaccinated calves and herds and flocks are the wild ruminants, the deer, of which there are countless in much of rural England. They graze in my sister's garden and in the fields..."
As Dr Watkins wrote previously, Dr Chris Oura (Pirbright) confirmed that the reason for the 'under one month of age' exclusion was because it is probable the vaccine has not been tested under one month of age - and he confirmed too that the animals could be expected to respond well to vaccine from birth. He shared Dr Watkins' concern that almost all young animals would get no protective antibody against BTV-8 in their colostrum in the UK this year. (More)

May 8 2008 ~" the Dutch vet can have no grounds to claim the protection is so short that it should only be used in July to cover the next 4 months."

(See reference to Dutch story below) Dr Watkins writes today: "I spoke with Alasdair King of Intervet ... He confirms that the bovilis 8 vaccine has not been trialled on lambs or calves less than one month of age- and that before use on these young animals the vet can (and they do) ring Intervet and discuss the use of the vaccine, as with other ruminant species.
There are two adjuvants in the vaccine, one mild that is used in humans aluminium hydroxide, and the other less mild a saponin called quil A; the latter is not used in human vaccines. The adjuvants are there to provoke a stronger immune response to the antigen than giving the antigen alone.
The immune response to bovilis 8 has been tested to see if it is protective by animal challenge experiments. The correlation of antibody titres and neutralisation antibodies measured in vitro has not been done with the protective immune response as yet for BTV so that is why the challenge experiments must be done to prove vaccine efficacy. The level of antibody in vaccinees that can be measured is high - which suggests the vaccine does indeed perform as would be expected, giving protection for a period such as one year. Thus Intervet can rightly claim it should be used similarly to other killed vaccines. The Dutch vet can have no grounds to claim the protection is so short that it should only be used in July to cover the next 4 months."

May 7 2008 ~ "we will expand the Protection Zones as soon as that vaccine is available.."

"Defra has today issued a tender for 13 million additional doses of Bluetongue vaccine, eight million for use in England and five million for use in Wales. ..... Initial indications would suggest a high response to the early availability of vaccine and that take-up of vaccine is high. Further batches of vaccine are being delivered by Intervet, and we will expand the Protection Zones accordingly as soon as that vaccine is available." DEFRA website. Hilary Benn said: "I am pleased with the very high demand for vaccine in the first week of vaccination. The farming industry faces a real threat from Bluetongue. The best way for farmers to protect their animals and their pockets is to vaccinate all susceptible animals. "By underwriting a further order for vaccine, I am giving farmers across the whole of England the clearest signal that there will be vaccine available as we roll out the vaccination campaign county by county. I want the whole industry to engage with this over the weeks and months ahead".

May 7/8 2008 ~ Vaccination of sheep now in May would cover them for the rest of the season, says Dr Ruth Watkins

An article in Agarisch Dagblad (thanks again to the journalist, Ruud Peys, for the link) today reports that Piet Vellema of the privatised Dutch animal health service (GD) suggests that it may be better to delay vaccination of sheep until June or July because it is not yet known for how long immunity following vaccination will last. Intervet does not choose to comment on the length of immunity. Paul van Aarle says, "We know that the vaccine works" - and the virologist, Eugene van Rooij, of the Central Veterinary Institute of Wageningen University does not subscribe to the recommendation of the GD for delay.
A warmwell correspondent in Holland suggests that since such an expert from Wageningen University has already rejected Piet Vellema's advice one need not take it too seriously.
As for Dr Ruth Watkins, she is in no doubt either. She says,
"As there will be a 3 week period before the peak response to the vaccine when immunity is at its greatest, vaccination now is certainly the most prudent (immunity by July - the month when clinical cases started to emerge in large numbers in 2007). .."
She adds that vaccination of sheep could be done again in the midge down time to ensure immunity next season 2009, even if that is only 6 months after the first dose / course in sheep . Read email.

May 7 2008 ~" It remains to see if vaccination, restricted to PZ's, will contribute to the prevention of BTV-8 spreading to the other regions .." ProMed

Massive vaccination of cattle began in north eastern France on Friday 25 April, five days before our own. On the 2nd May, and with his customary tact, the ProMed moderator, AS, wrote : "The long-due BTV-8 vaccination is expected to commence soon also in other severely affected European countries, such as Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg, where it is planned to cover their entire territories, declared as Protection Zones (PZ).
The situation in other countries, such as the UK, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Italy, and Spain is different, since only parts of their territories have been declared PZ's where the vaccination is allowed.
It remains to see if vaccination, restricted to PZ's, will contribute to the prevention of BTV-8 spreading to the other regions with susceptible livestock."
For "The hows and whys of vaccination," go to http://www.nfuonline.com/x27181.xml . "It will be useful to obtain detailed information on the safety and efficacy tests, which the released inactivated BTV-8 vaccine has undergone. "

May 5 2008 ~ "young animals can be expected to respond well to vaccine from birth"

Dr Ruth Watkins writes that since almost all young animals in the UK this year will get no protective antibody against BTV-8 in the colostrum from their mothers, they will be fully susceptible to BTV-8 infection. It is essential that all the animals on a farm, however young, are rendered immune by vaccination. Extract from her email:
"....I feel the DEFRA recommendation of not vaccinating animals less than one month old is ill thought through and irresponsible with regard to disease control. ... One might think DEFRA has said this because the very young cannot respond to killed vaccine but that is not the case. ... There is no reason to suppose the vaccine is toxic to the very young of the species..."
Farmers should go ahead and vaccinate these young animals as the vaccine can be expected to work and they need to ensure near enough to 100% immunity to BTV-8 in their flocks and herds. Dr Watkins' email should be read in full - and as widely as possible. Her advice about camelids, goats and deer is important too.

May 3/4 2008 ~ British Veterinary Association (BVA) website's key considerations for veterinary surgeons

This is a pdf file "A clear line of communication with farming clients is vital to report any suspected lack of efficacy or other suspected adverse reactions" Extract:
The veterinary profession is the corner stone of the bluetongue vaccination programme with responsibility for vaccine delivery, proper usage, and monitoring for efficacy. .... you should
• satisfy yourself that your clients are competent to administer vaccine, if appropriate;
• arrange any necessary visit(s) to check the livestock and premises in order to satisfy the condition "under our care";
• ensure correct numbers of doses for numbers of stock.
  Livestock keepers are allowed to administer the vaccine to their animals. However, if the animals are vaccinated in order to be moved out of a Protection Zone for the purposes of domestic or intra-community trade, then a level of certification will be required.
  Off-label use
  If used in other ruminant species it should be administered under the cascade system under the direct responsibility of a veterinary surgeon. There will be no withdrawal periods if the vaccine is used in goats.
  This vaccine has not previously been used in the field. ..."
  Read in full

May 3 2008 ~ Vaccine guns cannot deliver 1 ml dose from the 20ml vaccine bottles

It seems to have been an unfortunate oversight that, as Jack Davies in the Farmers Guardian points out today, tests have found the vaccine guns "incompatible with the smaller bottles as they are unable to draw up the full 1ml dose." The first million doses to arrive in the UK are all in 20ml bottles. The FG comments: "The guns had been ordered in to help farmers as the vaccine is currently the only 1ml dose on the market and most guns currently deliver a minimum of 2ml."
UPDATE One farmer from the US emailed: "So who needs some gun to vaccinate? I do it all the time with a 50 cent plastic disposable syringe that can be disinfected, and a new needle."

May 2 2008 ~ "... wait-and-see policy favoured by farmers is fully supported by the Scottish government."

The Scotsman's Dan Buglass today implies that "farmers" do support the wait-and-see policy - but the Scottish National Beef Association (NBA) has strongly argued that Scotland wants vaccination to start in early summer - a position demonstrated by the petition now on its own website to the European Commission asking for a change in the rules so that vaccination against Bluetongue virus should be permitted " without the consequences of that area being designated a Protection Zone".
The president of the Scottish Beef Cattle Association (SBCA) is quoted in the Scotsman, saying with more apparent irritation than clarity that the NBA thinking is "clearly driven by sources south of the Border" and that "There is sufficient flexibility in the timing of the Scottish proposals to allow for changing developments in the south, should they arise." All this starkly illustrates the problem caused by trade rules. As with foot and mouth, the modern boon of vaccination is discounted by many of the big players. If they reject vaccination, they sacrifice their animals' health in order to avoid the sacrifice of trade and profits demanded by EU protectionism.
The Scotsman points out that if and when the Scots do vaccinate, it will at least be a compulsory scheme and that 50 per cent of the cost will be met - but the present situation leaves anxious Scottish farmers with the threat of a fine of up to £5,000, or even jail if they acquire vaccine to protect their own animals. BTV8 is a virus that has spread relentlessly since 2006 and it is touch and go whether the vaccine, whose production was delayed by the hesitation of European States precisely because of the trade rules problem, can now be used fast enough to combat it.

May 1 2008 ~ "one of the positives to come out of FMD 2001 ....a 'progressive', intelligent and humane response"

UPDATE on the comment below. We have just received an email from a stakeholder very ready to defend DEFRA and applaud the Department for its contribution to the present BTv vaccination policy:
"I have just been talking to our vet, here completing a TB test this morning... We concluded that one of the positives to come out of FMD 2001 was that a group has evolved, 'battle- hardened' really, that has come together to quickly shape this appropriate response to Bluetongue. Yes, we are vaccinating into an unknown - how long viraemic calves may remain infectious for example - but have chosen a 'progressive', intelligent and humane response, and done so quickly.
I know some people regard DEFRA Stakeholder meetings as a feel-good outing for numpties but I beg to differ - I feel that they have been integral to this response, and that in turn this will inform our next FMD response."
Yes. It is good to be reminded that there are those working within DEFRA and in conjunction with the Department who have, for years now, been doggedly working towards a more humane and modern approach to animal disease control - and we are most grateful for this email (as indeed we are for all emails) UPDATE There have been other comments about this, chief of which this email from the smallholder guru, Alan Beat.

May 1 2008 ~ Peter Kendall launches the national campaign "Don't hesitate, vaccinate" from a Norfolk farm today

The president of the National Farmers' Union has been invited by Tim Cane, estate manager of Crown Point Farms, to watch the first batch of dairy cattle being vaccinated today. EDP24
"...The BTV8 vaccine, which protects all ruminant animals against the midge-borne virus, is now available for the 2.2m susceptible animals in the protection zone which includes all of East Anglia. .... Mr Cane is the chairman of the Norwich and Loddon branch of the NFU and runs the Bixley herd of pedigree Holstein dairy cattle for the Colman family on the edge of Norwich.... David Hallas, who is general manager of Intervet UK, manufacturer of the Bluetongue vaccine, will be joined by Steve Trickey, veterinary surgeon, of the Chapelfield Veterinary Partnership and the BCVA (British Cattle Veterinary Association)."
Good news - all the same, when one remembers the refusal to contemplate vaccination against foot and mouth (vaccines have been effective for decades) one cannot help but agree with this email, just received from a veterinary and animal health researcher:
"Mary, I couldn't help smile, but with sadness too, when I read the posting today - all the fanfare for this wonderful thing called vaccination - they have all been a bit slow to stumble across this marvellous invention (how now can they decry it for FMD in all honesty?) "

Thursday May 1 2008 ~ Vaccination should begin today in the protection zone

As reported below, the first batch of vaccines have arrived ahead of schedule and are ready for distribution The Farmers Guardian comments that the first batch of 1m doses of vaccine, available only in 20ml bottles, should be delievered to the first vets early this morning. "The second batch of vaccine, 2m doses available in 50ml bottles is expected to be released to vets within a few days." The FG videos about bluetongue control can be viewed here (new window)
In the Netherlands, vaccination is scheduled to begin next Thursday, 8th May.

Wednesday April 30 2008 ~ Postcard campaign well under way in the South East

30,000 postcards are being distributed throughout the south east as part of the National Farmers Union's Don't Hesitate -Vaccinate! campaign. . Posters have also been put up where farmers and livestock owners are likely to see them. (source) In early April the BBC reported that "Researchers who studied midges' lifecycles to predict when farms are at risk have said animals in Kent will be the first to be at risk from 21 April."

Tuesday April 29 2008 ~ Intervet has released the first batch of Bluetongue BTV8 vaccine for Northern Europe.

Intervet, now "Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health" has announced on the Intervet website the news that the company ".... has now released the first batch of bluetongue vaccine for sheep and cattle, Bovilis BTV8, fulfilling firm orders received from a number of countries within Europe. Stolp: "We put great effort into the development of our safe and efficacious Bovilis BTV8 vaccine to meet the urgent need as quickly as possible and we are pleased that production is on track, so that we are able to deliver the first amounts of vaccine before the actual start of the "midge season". Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health has developed the Bovilis BTV8 vaccine in a very short period of time. It has been two years since the emergence of the virus in Northern Europe in 2006. The company supplies Bovilis BTV8 vaccine to a number of European countries. At this moment the supply is in balance with the confirmed orders and undecided tender applications..."

Tuesday April 29 2008 ~ Farmers Guardian Bluetongue Q and A page

The FG expert panel comprises Alick Simmons, deputy chief veterinary officer; Alasdair King, livestock veterinary manager, Intervet; Jules Dare, Westpoint Veterinary Group; Prof Philip Mellor, Institute of Animal Health; Dr Chris Oura, Institute of Animal Health; The page covers many questions to which the average livestock owner would want answers

Friday 25th April ~ "vaccine could begin arriving at wholesalers next week in readiness for distribution"

See Farmers Weekly today: "The release could be in the nick of time. Vets in Belgium and the Netherlands have reported that large numbers of the bluetongue carrying midge, cullicoides (sic), have become active in the past few days. Farmers have been warned to watch for symptoms and urged to vaccinate stock. In the UK the earliest date predicted for DEFRA secretary Hilary Benn to approve the vaccine release, by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, is Friday (25 April). "Once the vaccine arrives ....It would work best if the vet then calls the farmer client. Otherwise there could be chaos if 20 or 30 farmers start ringing vets to see if the vaccine has arrived."

25 April ~ "Registering for vaccination with your vet must become a top priority. Do it today. There is huge urgency."

An article by Caroline Cranbrook in the East Anglian Daily Times on April 19th has already had its effect, we hear. ("I was talking to a farming friend this morning. I asked him whether he had read the article and he said yes he had and that as the result he had registered with his vet...")
Warmwell is very glad to publish the article in full. Extract:
" In the first year the symptoms are mild .... In subsequent years both the severity and extent of the disease hugely increase .. In parts of Europe, the lamb crop is down by about 30%. In the Moselle region of France about 20% of cattle herds are affected...The death rate has risen substantially (20-70% is reported in Europe) and there are twice as many abortions.... Vaccination is the only hope of preventing the disease from spreading in a similar way in Britain and ruining the livestock industry....
In the next few weeks we have a unique and perhaps final opportunity to prevent this catastrophic disease from becoming endemic in Britain. For this reason it is essential that everyone who owns cattle, sheep, goats, farmed deer or camelids should contact their vet immediately and ask to be put on the list for vaccine. .."
Read in full - (It can be copied or printed out from this new window and be passed on.)

Friday 25th April ~ How to vaccinate. Videos on Farmers Weekly site

Videos and pictures about the disease and questions and answers about vaccination can all be seen on this page of Farmers Weekly online.

Friday 25th April ~ "We have no plans to hold discussions with the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe to discuss DEFRA's vaccination plan."

..was Jonathan Shaw's curt reply to the Parliamentary Question posed by David Drew Hansard Is the UK still smarting under the European Veterinarians' comments about the UK plans when they said, "Irrespective of the disease outbreaks the UK has faced over recent years, it continues to cut budgets and to reduce its Animal Health Services...." One remembers too Fred Landeg's response, calling it ‘both inaccurate and deeply offensive'.

Thursday 24 April ~ Realisation dawns...not enough vaccine

DEFRA is set to order another 8 million doses. As for Wales, the report on www.dailypost.co.uk says : "Cardiff is now talking to the livestock industry and others before sanctioning a follow-up order" ( i.e. of an extra 3 million doses. )
Elin Jones is apparently saying " we must wait for the English protection zone to reach the Welsh border before a protection zone can be declared in Wales" and - a remark that also leaves one gasping for air..."I have sought Defra's co-operation in ensuring that the protection zone reaches Wales as early as possible in the summer to allow vaccination to begin in Wales." As one informed ex-vet who writes on the Farmtalking forum remarks, "Why on earth the relevant authorities don't immediately declare the whole of the UK a protection zone is beyond me."

Thursday 24 April ~ Farmers Guardian will be interviewing some of the key players

"From the deputy chief vet to vaccine manufacturer Intervet, we will be putting your questions to the key decision makers - be it about the disease, the vaccine, or the strategy for controlling and eventually, eradicating the disease. If you have a question you want to put to the experts email jdavies@cmpi.biz or call 02079218485

Monday 21st April ~ Draft European Commission regulation modifying movement rules now approved.

Under temporary new rules that will apply until 31 December 2008, Member States can request (following EU approval) that animals from restricted zones do not move into BTV-free areas unless they are either vaccinated or shown to be naturally immune. Confirmation of the existence of antibodies by means of a second serological test seven days before movement is to provide reassurance that such animals are immune and safely moved. Calves too young to be vaccinated (under 90 days) can be moved without vaccination, provided that they are kept strictly away from midges. (Source of information www.agriculture-news.eu )

Sunday 20th April ~ "DEFRA ... will have no way of knowing what percentage of animals in an area or on a holding are vaccinated"

A cri-de coeur from the blog of Devon Fine Fibres, producer of cashmere and mohair from sheep and goats, ".....It's times like this when I wish I lived in Scotland where the scheme is to be compulsory. Vaccinate or face 3 months in jail or a £5000 fine!" And from the blog of Locks Park Farm (sheep and beef cattle) in Devon, the farmer of 30 years experience describes how a Bluetongue meeting was shocked by the warnings of a Dutch vet - and highly impressed by the knowledge of the Pirbright vet, Karin Darple, who has been travelling around the south of England, giving presentations:
"....it was superb... She had very practical advice on how to cope with the disease, whether and when insecticides would be appropriate, housing versus the outdoors and much, much, more.
Karin would like to see 100% take up of the vaccine as soon as it hits the shelves, but EU legislation prevents this!" (NB. Please remember to sign the NBA petition about this, now on their own website.)"Vaccine can only be given in Protection Zones where the disease has already struck, not in the surrounding Surveillance Zones. Karin couldn't stress enough that speed is of the essence: to stand a chance of avoiding the devastating effects of the disease we must vaccinate ahead of it - we must prevent the virus from getting established."
Read in full

Friday 18th April ~ " ... The second that I can get my hands on the vaccine, it will be done."

Roger Long, of the NFU's regional livestock board, is quoted today (EDP24) saying vaccine is likely to be here two or three weeks ahead of schedule. In spite of the higher cost of the first supplies of vaccine to arrive because only smaller 20ml vaccine bottles will be available at first, he has ordered 1,500 doses for his cattle and will not delay vaccination until the cheaper 50ml bottles arrive later in May.
Vets are to be allowed to inject a 1ml dose of vaccine from the 20ml bottles and Mr Long is hoping it might be possible for vets to hold a mass vaccination clinic for producers with a small number of animals rather than expecting smallholders with only a few animals to have to obtain a full bottle containing more doses than they need. Read article

Friday 18th April ~ Tim Farron says vaccination for rare breeds should be a top priority

The Lib Dem MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, Tim Farron, who is chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Hill Farming, has written to Hilary Benn to call for rare breeds to be vaccinated first. He says that farmers "may face devastating losses to rare breeds that may prove to be irreplaceable." Under the present vaccination plan, rare breeds don't have any priority even though, because of their low numbers, the survival of breeds such as Rough Fell and Herdwicks could be at risk. See Cumberland News

Friday 18th April ~ DEFRA is being persuaded to order 8 million more doses - we hope

Alistair Driver reports in the Farmers Guardian that the NFU's head of food and farming, Kevin Pearce, says DEFRA is close to ordering another 8 million doses. Mr Pearce told the NFU council on Tuesday:
"Discussions are going on with Ministers about ordering additional vaccine. We need another 8m doses to complete vaccination in England and I am hopeful we will see some positive results on that soon. I think we have a very good case. ...Although Intervet is saying publicly it expects to deliver 3m doses in May, I would be very disappointed if they don't deliver at least 5m in May. Production of vaccine has gone extremely well and they are capable of doing that,"
The NFU and all the other members of the JAB campaign, are to be congratulated on the way they are injecting a much-neede sense of urgency into persuading farmers of the need for 100 per cent coverage of susceptible livestock.

Wednesday 16th April ~ "Animal health and welfare is simply too important to remain as at present..

.. it must be given clear leadership and be made less vulnerable to budgetary fluctuations and ‘border disputes' between organisations." This month's Beringer Report (pdf) into the funding, governance and risk management at the Institute for Animal Health to advise the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) makes 13 recommendations including the urgent redevelopment of the Pirbright Site as a new ‘National Centre for Animal Viral Disease' BBSRC and Defra should jointly provide long-term core funding so that the facility is no longer funded merely through the award of research grants and contracts, ensuring that safety and biosecurity needs are satisfied.
The BBSRC and Defra must agree long-term arrangements for its ownership and management- and they should lead in setting up a funding body for animal health and welfare research, surveillance and associated functions. Finally, a new Animal Health and Welfare agency should be established.

April 16 2008 ~ BBSRC Chief Executive Steve Visscher : "The BBSRC Council and Executive are extremely grateful to Professor Beringer and his review panel for the thoughtful and incisive nature of their report.

" It provides a real basis for BBSRC to move forward and to resolve the regrettable but inevitable uncertainty under which IAH staff have been working. I would like to take this opportunity to repeat BBSRC's ongoing support for those staff who are continuing to deliver vital research, for example on Bluetongue Disease, during this period." See BBSRC response to Beringer (14th April)

Friday April 11 2008 ~"responsibility without power" No-one wants to be the next Chief Veterinary Officer?

In the Farmers Guardian Professor Joe Brownlie is quoted as saying that "... the modern CVO had responsibility without power and, as such, candidates to replace Mr Landeg were discouraged.
"This is not an attractive position," he said. "I know two colleagues that have been approached and have turned it down. It is a reduced role across the entire sector," he added...."

Friday April 11 2008 ~ Will inactivated vaccine protect the foetus?

(In human medicine, live Rubella vaccine, given before pregnancy does not always protect the baby from secondary rubella infection in the mother even if antibodies are present. This is why small boys are vaccinated too, to try and reduce the circulating wild type.)
A french paper (pdf in French) by the French Agency AFSSA has examined available data on the possible effects on reproduction of the vaccines that have been authorised in various countries. Warmwell.com's unofficial translation may be read here. Extract:
What is certain is that vaccination reduces the viraemia of the wild virus at the time of an infection. So, in the absence of viraemia, there is no teratogenic or abortive phenomenon.
Read warmwell.com's translation

Friday April 11 2008 ~ end the complexities

A farmer from East Yorkshire writes to the Farmers Guardian to describe the real difficulties of the present policy. He suggests, as so many have already done, an urgent acceptance of the
"one sensible solution to all this potential and current chaos and that is to declare the whole country a Protection Zone, not in a piece-meal manner deriving from the sequential availability of the vaccine, but now in one fell swoop......to put an end to all the complexities arisin