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 arising from different zones"

April 10 2008 ~ Several hundred French farmers block Mont Blanc over compensation

Christian Berthet, head of the FFCB livestock farming union for the south-eastern Rhone-Alpes region, is quoted: "Bluetongue stopped us from working in 2007 and we want compensation." France had about 11,000 cases by the end of 2007 and new cases have recently been reported.
UPDATE (We have been told that the french protest at the Mont Blanc tunnel was not really done by farmers, but by cattle dealers, who lost their export business to italy because of their rejection of non-vaccinated cattle. Many thanks to Seb Schäfer.)
The BBC reported:
"The FFCB says the compensation package for 2007 is the same amount as in 2006, when the disease affected 16 departments, yet it spread to the rest of the country later on. The French government on Monday said it was releasing 6m euros (£4.8 million) in aid for farmers whose herds have been hit. The FFCB picked the Mont Blanc tunnel to stage its protest because it leads to Italy, one of the main markets for French veal. Italy closed its border in March as French calves had not been vaccinated against bluetongue."
As we know, there is no compensation planned for the UK at all.

April 10 2008 ~ "Dear members of the Council, and Mrs Androulla Vassiliou..."

The European Livestock Association (ELA) has registered "its great concern" to the EU Commission and the EU Council with regard to those regions and/or countries that are still ‘free’ zones - but for whom vaccination against BTV8 is not yet seen as a permitted option
"... we strongly urge the Council and the Commission to review the legislation concerning vaccination in order to ensure an adequate and effective response.
We feel that the situation with bluetongue offers a real opportunity for the Commission to demonstrate its leadership and undoubted expertise by adopting a pan European approach to the control of this latest extremely serious threat to our livestock industry. We feel that a critical part of this policy is the option for member states to vaccinate all susceptible animals without the immediate consequences of limiting vaccination to a protection zone.
Furthermore, by adopting preventive vaccination, as was recently advocated by the European Parliament, we will surely be moving towards the very laudable objectives/ideals expressed in the document "Towards a durable animal health policy in a global world". ."
Read the letter sent by the European Livestock Association (html) or (pdf)

April 9 2008 ~ Scots to vaccinate in compulsory campaign....now confirmed...

that £3 million has been secured from the Scottish Government for a compulsory bluetongue vaccine program. Vaccine costs are to be split 50:50 between farmer and government. Confirmation received. This story now appears in FWi
"....Tenders for the supply of 12 million doses of vaccine are to be invited immediately. It is hoped that vaccine will be available for use on a limited scale in the summer in the event of a bluetongue outbreak. It is estimated that the cost to farmers could be as little as 50-60p per vaccination after the grant. All cattle and sheep will be vaccinated in most parts of Scotland. A decision has still to be made as to whether the islands and an area in the north-west will be exempt. Vaccination will be done by farmers themselves with close veterinary supervision to ensure compliance. Failure to comply could result in fines as £5000 and/or six months in jail..."
See also Scotsman (Thursday)

April 9 2008 ~ Under new EU rules, decided today, vaccinated animals and those considered immune will be free to move from bluetongue zones into bluetongue free areas.

The Farmers Guardian: "The draft regulation modifying the rules finally received approval today (Wednesday, April 9) at a meeting of the Standing Committee on Food Chain and Animal Health (SCoFCAH) in Brussels.... Following the decision, member states will be given the power to tighten up restrictions on non-vaccinated stock, allowing them to impose strict import bans on all susceptible livestock older than 90 days...."
Farming Weekly says, "member states agreed the rule change which will prevent the movement of bluetongue susceptible animals more than 90 days old, unless they have been vaccinated or have natural immunity. Another condition is that, where animals have been vaccinated, at least 50 days must have passed before they can move out of a zone, to ensure that they are not infective. This applies to both breeding and slaughter animals, and covers both the protection and surveillance zones until the end of 2008, when it will be reviewed."

April 9 2008 ~ "....accumulating evidence that infection with BTV-8 during pregnancy in cattle may lead to congenital brain defects..."

A letter in the Vet Record about data compiled in the Netherlands is reported on ProMed today. The moderator comment says that the data are complementary to field observations from Germany, presented in posting 20080315.1028 and encourages subscribers to visit Belgium's presentation during the SCFCAH 31 Mar 2008 meeting (pdf) . It includes, among others, the following data pertaining to transplacental BTV-8 transmission in cattle:
1. Increased abortion rate: 68 aborted fetuses tested, of which 28 found RT-PCR positive.
2. Increased neonatal mortality, malformations: 11 out of 109 suspected newborn calves RT-PCR and ELISA positive
In Belgium, mandatory vaccination of sheep and cattle (except veal calves) will take place in May, according to the pdf file (18 very clear pages).

April 9 2008 ~ Switzerland has ordered 4 million doses of bluetongue vaccine - from all three manufacturers: Fort Dodge, Intervet and Merial.

The ProMed posting also comments on the Swiss conclusion that "midges are mostly active in lower areas" The moderator says that this is in need of clarification.
"It seems to be certainly valid when the vector is _Culicoides imicola_. It will be interesting to obtain updated information on the identity of the culicoides species involved in the Swiss arena, and their breeding and feeding behaviour in the prevailing habitats, including higher latitudes."
The Swiss campaign is being organised by the cantonal veterinary services together with the Federal Veterinary Office and carried out by vets. It will be financed by the Swiss "federal government, the cantons and the agricultural industry."

April 9 2008 ~ "Many of my cows have again developed bleeding from the nose..."

A response to the story below has been received from Janine Allis-Smith
'I have just looked at the Dutch website and a link article says they are going to vaccinate livestock in the Northern provinces first, presuming those in the South which have been infected have often developed antibodies and are less susceptible. Then it goes on re the re-infection (Dutch source www.limburger.nl):
"Because of the infection last year, many of N.Brabant and Limburg's dairly farmers are still experiencing big losses. "Many of my cows have again developed bleeding from the nose, one of the signs of the disease", says Cees Gommers from Ysselsteyn. Last year he lost 16 of his 120 cows. Many of the animals left produce up to 40% less milk."...'
Many thanks for this update. (It refers to the paragraph below) The suggestion that animals, according to this report, really can get reinfected is extremely worrying. UPDATE We are grateful to Sabine Zentis who writes, "I have tried to find out some more background info but so far there is no proof of multiple infection in the same animal. The symptoms described can be regarded either as long term effects of BT or might be attributed to a different condition like IBR etc."

Tuesday April 8 2008 ~ Are recovered animals really immune?

Any plans, such as the German vaccination plan, not to vaccinate proven seropositive animals may be put in jeopardy by the worrying suggestion that data in Belgium points to animals getting infected a second time.
Our own rather freely translated version of the article at www.deondernemer.nl today suggests that the Dutch milk stock breeders' trade union (NMV) fear that there will be a shortfall of a million doses of vaccine. The government has ordered six million but the association expects that at least seven million will be necessary. The Dutch Ministry of Agriculture is going on the assumption that on farms where infection has occurred before, animals, being already sufficiently resistent against the virus, are no longer in need of vaccination. However, the NMV is concerned that animals are not protected automatically after a first infection. This is on the basis of Belgian data which suggests that ruminants were infected in both 2006 and 2007.
(Advice about the accuracy of this would be much appreciated but we know how busy readers are.)
UPDATE a kind reader, Janine, sends the update above.

Tuesday April 8 2008 ~ JAB's progress

Congratulations to the stakeholders in the JAB partnership who are raising consciousness about the urgent need for livestock owners to contact their vet and work out how much vaccine to ask for and when they can get on with vaccinating. www.farmingviews.co.uk quotes JAB today now that the vaccine been approved for use in the UK by the Veterinary Medicines Directive and is expected to release the first three million doses to the UK in May but is confident that this number can be exceeded. :
"This is a significant step forward for the campaign, which is aimed at getting farmers behind a vaccination programme to stop bluetongue in its tracks.
Farmers should identify how much vaccine they need for their livestock, they should contact their vet about ordering and talk to them about vaccine availability."
JAB stakeholders are: the NFU, National Sheep Association, National Beef Association, British Meat Processors Association , Livestock Auctioneers Association, Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers, British Veterinary Association , Country Land and Business Association, Tenant Farmers Association, Association of Independent Meat Suppliers, Dairy UK, British Cattle Veterinary Association, the Sheep Veterinary Society, the Rare Breed Survival Trust, British Alpaca Society, British Llama Society, British Wool Marketing Board, British Simmental Society, English Beef and Lamb Executive and the Sheep Centre.

Tuesday April 8 2008 ~ Veterinary profession tries to voice its advice and concerns to the Government "not always as successfully as one might have wished"

Presentations given to BVA Council meeting last Wednesdays (see www.medicalnewstoday.com) included one by Paul Roger of the Sheep Veterinary Society on bluetongue.
"Since the first reported case last year BVA and its relevant divisions have been working to increase awareness of the disease, including recognition of clinical signs, primarily through BVA and divisional publications - an article by the President will feature in the April edition of Off The Record - and websites. As Mr Roger's presentation made clear, the profession has been part of Defra's Core Stakeholder Group and has had the opportunity, albeit not always as successfully as one might have wished, to feed the profession's advice and concerns through to Government. Despite frustrations with the process, the profession had recently signed up to JAB (the Joint Action against Bluetongue campaign), designed to promote the mass vaccination of bluetongue susceptible animals and Council representatives were urged to encourage their members to use the resources available on the BVA website to promote awareness of all aspects of the disease and the importance of vaccination."
See BVA website page on JAB and clinical signs and regional seminars.

Tuesday April 8 2008 ~ Bluetongue causes a loss of over 39 million pounds to Dutch Livestock sector

The Netherlands newspaper, www.agd.nl (Agrarisch Dagblad) reveals today that the Dutch livestock sector suffered a loss of 49.3 milllion euro last year because of the bluetongue epidemic. Research from Wageningen university shows 43.8 million euro losses in cattle and 5.5 million in the sheep sector. This compares with losses of 28.5 million euros the previous year. (Many thanks to the UK correspondent for the Agrarisch Dagblad in Holland, Ruud Peys, who has kindly contacted warmwell.com.)

Monday April 7/8 2008 ~ failure to communicate effectively with farmers or with vets, despite "consultations" and road shows

Under the despair-inducing headline, Farmers sceptical about disease vaccine in the Northampton Chronicle, we read that farmers in the county "have said they know little about the vaccine and are unsure how well it will combat the disease..." This is followed by the anxious words of a farmer:
"We do wish it had been done sooner but some vets recommended we don't vaccinate the cows because there are so many strains of the virus, it's like flu, and we're not necessarily going to cover the right one."
There are evidently many farmers who are still unaware that we are threatened with a single strain of BTV and vets who - for what reasons no clue is given - are advising against vaccination. As an emailer writes, "Here’s more evidence of Defra’s failure to communicate effectively with farmers or with vets, despite all the money they have invested in their various "consultations" and road shows. .."
Nothing less than the survival of the sheep and cattle livestock industry of the UK is threatened by this disease and vaccination is all we have to combat it. We can only urge readers to sign the NBA petition and do all they can to raise awareness of the vital need for as near as possible 100% vaccination coverage of all farm ruminants.

Monday April 7 2008 ~ " High time the whole country was treated as infected and an urgent all out campaign adopted to vaccinate everything..."

An emailer, an experienced vet, writes today
"Thanks for opportunity to sign petition. However when will Defra realise inky lines on paper do not stop midges or dealers spreading disease? High time whole country was treated as infected and an urgent all out campaign adopted to vaccinate everything. When will this stupid nonsense cease? We have vaccinated sheep for decades against Clostridial disease - and some cattle. Also pigs against disease. The public have happily eaten the meat - yet still these myths are spread to to prevent vaccination."
An area that chooses pre-emptively to vaccinate to protect its animals should not suffer trade penalties. A direct link to the NBA petition here will enable readers to register electronically their support for the plea to the EU to change the rules that militate against a more effective campaign to eradicate disease. As Rees Roberts, HCC chairman says on www.meatinfo.co.uk : " Decisive action needs to be taken immediately ... It is very likely that the disease will reach Wales in 2008 and therefore it is vital that the industry is prepared for this by considering strategies for limiting the impact of the disease in advance of its arrival."

Sunday April 6 2008 ~ Direct link to the NBA petition

Please support the Petition, irrespective of whether you are a member of NBA Scotland or not. The Petition is open to all those who concerned about livestock. A direct link here will enable you to send your support electronically. "We, the undersigned, call upon the European Commission to...
1. Permit vaccination against Bluetongue Virus serotype 8, with inactivated licenced vaccine, in a Bluetongue-free country/region such as Scotland BEFORE the disease arrives and without the requirement to declare that country/region as a Protection Zone.
2. That vaccination should be used to protect against Blue Tongue virus in Scotland as a Free Zone, therefore gaining Scotland the status of ‘vaccinated free of virus’.
3. That, in the event of the Surveillance Zone encroaching into Scotland before Bluetongue vaccination can be achieved, vaccination against Bluetongue virus should be permitted without the consequences of that area being designated a Protection Zone."

April 6 ~ " three million doses will be delivered in May"

EDP 24 reports: "Intervet has indicated that it will release the first doses to the UK in May, subject to final batch testing. In a statement, Defra said about three million doses will be delivered in May and could exceed this commitment..."
And as Channel 4 news sensibly reported last night:"...It's about as early as could have been hoped but the vaccine is as yet untried and treating susceptible animals will be a race against time before midges re-emerge and begin to spread bluetongue again.
There have been no new infections confirmed in Britain's 34 million sheep so far this spring -- but testing continues.
A Bluetongue outbreak on the scale of Europe's last year could kill 5million of them. Only once all farmers have vaccinated their flocks, will the threat of Bluetongue pass."

April 5 ~ " scientists who, if they were truly independent, should be shouting from the roofs of their institutes (or homepages of their websites) .."

"...that the present way of doing things does not make scientific sense. But instead, they appear happy to take the Government's money and do as they are asked within a tightly controlled remit. So Scottish scientists, instead of leading the way in Europe as to how Bluetongue disease should be handled, simply add to the burden of thoughtless bureaucracy." Read James Irvine's article on land-care.org.uk in full.

April 4/5 2008 ~ Defra officials ignore their own notices

It is hard to find positive things to say about DEFRA even though we do look for such information and would certainly print it if sent to us. It is, for example, with a sense of ironic despair that we read on p. 38 of the Farmers Weekly an anonymous letter entitled 'Why didn't DEFRA follow the rules?', describing how two Defra officials at a recent Livestock Market Roadshow at Holsworthy Market, despite the numerous notices all over the market, failed to dip their boots in disinfectant.

April 4/5 2008 ~ More a plug for themselves than emergency information for worried farmers?

Nowhere in DEFRA's "Give disease the Boot" article-cum-advert in the print version of the Farmers Weekly is there any sense of urgency, nor is there anything about the need for vaccination, the need to register with your vet, the timetable of vaccination, or the areas which are eligible.
Defra's large colour photo of a farmer looking downwards at 3 sheep standing round him, is captioned 'Good stockmanship and vigilance can help prevent the spread of disease' and it has a long plug for the Defra market Livestock Market Roadshows. There is also a paragraph on Bluetongue symptoms, advising farmers that BT is a notifiable disease and to seek the advice of a vet "if they are worried" But rather than communicating urgency, the need for vaccination, the need to register, the timetable and the areas which are eligible, space is taken up with the injunction:
'To keep up to date about disease and vaccination, visit www.defra.gov.uk/givediseasetheboot or phone Defra's helpline.
As one emailer writes, "WHAT A MISSED OPPORTUNITY. Given many farmers' recent experience of Defra, they are unlikely to look at the website or use the helpline. And how many hill farmers are online?"

April 3 2008 ~ Bluetongue vaccination roll out plan published

DEFRA today seems content to accept that "under EU law" the strange situation exists that if uninfected regions, such as Scotland and Wales and the free areas of England, want to protect their as yet uninfected animals by vaccinating them the area must be redesignated "Protection Zones" which must then, also by EU law, allow imports from genuinely infected zones. Defra says today:
"Under EU law, vaccination can only be carried out in a Protection Zone. As vaccine starts to be delivered by Intervet, vaccination will, therefore, commence in the Protection Zone only. Once vaccination is progressing across the Protection Zone, the intention is to extend or modify the Zone county by county, in order to permit further vaccination. The strategy has been developed and agreed with a Core Group of industry stakeholders. It is designed to be flexible, taking into account the changing nature of the disease, such as moving zones, the varying levels of disease risk in the zones and the availability of vaccine. More details of the vaccination strategy, alongside indicative prices for the vaccine, can be found on the Defra website."
. See NBA Scotland's petition below See also DEFRA's latest Zone map

April 3 2008 ~ vaccination "could significantly reduce bluetongue virus circulation .." says Jonathan Shaw - but uninfected zones stymied by EU legislation

We still have the ludicrous situation in EU legislation that if uninfected regions want to protect their as yet uninfected animals by vaccinating them the area must be redesignated "Protection Zones" which must then, by EU law, allow imports from genuinely infected zones.
It is hard to work out what Mr Shaw's advisers have been telling him about vaccination. Mr Shaw yesterday said, Hansard
"The implementation of a vaccination programme could significantly reduce bluetongue virus circulation and limit its geographical distribution, contributing to its control and potential eradication at some point in the future "
But one is also still rather reeling from Mr Shaw's throw-away line (below)
" lack of scientific evidence to support an immediate prospect of eradication through vaccination suggests that the case for compulsion is weak "
wondering what scientific evidence DEFRA has been looking at and what sort of time scale for eradication his advisers assume would follow a near 100% vaccination coverage. As for the reality of the 'vector-free' period, see ProMed comment below.

April 3 2008 ~ ProMed informed by Pirbright that no new cases infected in past four months "as far as we are aware"

Dr Chris Oura wrote to ProMed "Since November 2007, lab results indicate that all the "new cases" of bluetongue reported in the UK were infected during the vector season in 2007 and were only picked up by pre-movement testing carried out in 2008. As far as we are aware at present, there is no indication that BTV-8 has been circulating in the UK in the past 4 months (December-March 2008). These cases are neither a reoccurrence of disease nor a new outbreak; these animals have remained PCR- and ELISA-positive since being infected during the midge season in 2007, and the animals showed no clinical signs of disease at the time of pre-movement sampling."

April 3 2008 ~"..... the reality of the "vector-free" season"

ProMed today details research carried out by Dr Thomas Balenghien and colleagues: "....BTV-8 RNA detections in both France and Netherlands [see Bluetongue - Europe (17): BTV-8, new vector, update 20080321.1077 and commentary. - Mod.AS] in late autumn 2007 confirm without doubt that culicoides chiopterus has to be considered a potential vector of bluetongue virus in Europe." The commentary adds, "...they state that since entomosurveillance systems based on UV traps assess only nocturnal activity, it could not be excluded that host-seeking behaviour occurs during mild winter days, indicating the need to check the existence of a diurnal movement in winter, in order to evaluate the reality of the "vector-free" season.

April 3 2008 ~ Departments in part of S W France now regulated for both BTV-8 and BTV-1; vaccination will be reassessed to take into account the evolution of the disease.

ProMed also points out today that the French Ministry's website announced on 31 Mar 2008 that "2 new cases of BTV-1 have been confirmed in the Departments of the Gironde (at Queyrac) and in the Department of Landes (at Leon). Following the event located in the Gironde, a decree extending the regulated regions for serotype 1 to this department and part of nearby departments, the Charente and Charente Maritime, was published in the official gazette of 1 Apr 2008. These areas were already regulated under their BTV-8 situation.
The order also amends the regulatory area under the serotype 1 to reflect the launch of the vaccination campaign against this serotype in the departments of the Gers, Landes, Pyrenees Atlantiques and Hautes-Pyrenees.
The vaccination will be reassessed to take into account the evolution of the disease."

April 2/3 2008 ~ "the lack of scientific evidence to support an immediate prospect of eradication through vaccination suggests that the case for compulsion is weak." Jonathan Shaw

Hansard from April 1 - Not, unfortunately, an April Fool's comment; rather a Ministerial one.

April 2 2008 ~ Scotland - although the livestock industry is unanimous in its demand for the vaccine, none has yet been ordered

James Irvine, on Land-care.org.uk, has written about the NBA Scotland petition, calling on the EU for some common sense changes. He writes:
"The hold up in Scotland is in relation to the rules of the European Commission (EC) which forbid vaccination in a Bluetongue-free country or zone. Such a country either has to wait until infection arrives and has been officially confirmed, or declares itself to be a Protection Zone (PZ) even although it has not evidence of disease. The big snag of doing that is that, again according to EC diktat, free movement of livestock from any other PZ throughout the EU must be permitted. This, of course, would simply invite the BT virus to enter Scotland during the 6 weeks that it takes cattle to achieve full protection after vaccination. .... the National Beef Association Scotland has initiated a Petition to the EC. To view the Petition Click Here pdf Please support the Petition, irrespective of whether you are a member of NBA Scotland or not. The Petition is open to all those who are concerned about Scotland's livestock."
See also succinct comment from the Herald

April 2 ~ "We, the undersigned, call upon the European Commission to....:

(The Petition( in new page ) can be sent electronically. The text of the petition from the Scottish Beef farmers (NBA Scotland).
We, the undersigned, call upon the European Commission to
1. Permit vaccination against Bluetongue Virus serotype 8, with inactivated licenced vaccine, in a Bluetongue-free country/region such as Scotland BEFORE the disease arrives and without the requirement to declare that country/region as a Protection Zone.
2. That vaccination should be used to protect against Blue Tongue virus in Scotland as a Free Zone, therefore gaining Scotland the status of ‘vaccinated free of virus’.
3. That, in the event of the Surveillance Zone encroaching into Scotland before Bluetongue vaccination can be achieved, vaccination against Bluetongue virus should be permitted without the consequences of that area being designated a Protection Zone."
Anyone who feels concern for Scotland's livestock may email the completed form info@natbeef.demon.co.uk), fax the form back to 01434 601008 or post the form back to: The NBA, Mart Centre, Tyne Green, Hexham, Northumberland, NE46 3SG. Alternatively, go to the NBA website: www.nationalbeefassociation.com, Click on the NATIONAL AND REGIONAL NEWS menu (left hand side of the home page) and then click on Scottish News, then click on Petition. Enter your name and contact details and then press SUBMIT. -( available from 4th April.)

1/2 April 2008 ~ Dutch appeal to the Commission and Member States to take measures to guarantee free trade of products from vaccinated animals.

A press release from the Dutch Liberal party: "Vaccination must be a bigger part of the European animal disease policies - A series of proposals by MEP Jan Mulder has been accepted....Trade restrictions, raised when an MS chooses to vaccinate after an outbreak or at the threat of an infectious animal disease, are at this moment an important reason for countries not to chose vaccination.." More

1 April 2008 ~ Intervet vaccine granted approval

As expected (see below) Intervet's Bovilis BTV8 was given approval today from the Veterinary Medicines Directorate VMD. The Farmers Guardian reports in full:
"An initial 2 million doses is expected to come off the production line in May.....will be available as a prescription only medicine (POM-V) from vets. The vaccine will be administered by the farmer and is likely to cost between 55 and 98p depending on the size of bottle purchased..... Intervet will also be producing a 1ml vaccine gun, allowing farmers to vaccinate their animals without the need for new needles. .... Defra’s strategy is to vaccinate up to the borders of the current PZ before extending the PZ out further to allow vaccination in new areas..... the aim is to declare the whole country a PZ allowing all livestock across England and Wales to be vaccinated..."

1 April 2008 ~ Welsh farmers anxious that not enough vaccine is on its way to achieve viable coverage

We read on icwales.icnetwork.co.uk that the FUW president, Gareth Vaughan has called for a meeting of farmers’ representatives, vets and other interested parties, saying,
"such issues need to be discussed regularly in a forum with all stakeholders present.. there are complex issues surrounding this matter, such as how limited doses of vaccine can be targeted in a manner that achieves maximum protection for Welsh livestock."
However, as one informed contributor to the farmtalking internet forum remarks, "How can vaccine be 'targeted' if it is to be distributed through normal commercial channels? Won't it be 'first come, first served'?"
Meanwhile, the Joint campaign Against Bluetongue, JAB (see below) to urge all farmers with susceptible livestock to vaccinate their animals as soon as the vaccine is available, is using the slogan, "Don’t hesitate, vaccinate."

March 31 2008 ~ Germany moves without waiting for federal regulatory approval

Berlin - German officials said today (source) that they were
"bulldozing through plans to inoculate farm animals against bluetongue disease... central state of Hesse has placed a binding order for 21 million vaccination doses to be distributed to all 16 states, without waiting for federal regulatory approval for the substance. Hesse will pay about 17 million euros to the three manufacturers, the state environment minister, Wilhelm Dietzel, said in Wiesbaden. ..."
( Seb Schäfer pointed out that figures for Bluetongue animal deaths in Germany have not yet been published. The number quoted in the article is the number of premises with cases of bluetongue desease.)

March 31 2008 ~ Merial is the first supplier - to France

As we report below, France has already begun vaccinating - and had the good sense to order vaccine from several sources. The UK, on the other hand, not only stopped Merial's vital work at Pirbright in spite of advice to the contrary last October, but limited its own supplier of the vaccine to Intervet alone. Farming UK today says, "Merial supplies first BTV8 vaccine to reach livestock in Europe French veterinarians have now vaccinated the first sheep and cattle against bluetongue virus serotype 8 (BTV8). They are the first animals in Europe to be protected against BTV8; they were given a Merial vaccine. This represents the first part of a 200,000 dose order announced by the French Ministry of Agriculture and Fishing on 4 March.."

March 28/29 2008 ~ "It is expected that France and England can start vaccination in April..."

(Actually, vaccine is already being used by the French to protect their live trade in newly weaned suckler bred beef bulls to Italy - see below and is expected to begin vaccinating in the priority areas of the North East of France next week with an intitial supply of 300,000 doses - see agriculture.gouv.fr)
Intervet: vaccine production on target is the headline on Agrarisch Dagblad (in Dutch)
"The manufacture of the vaccine is on target, so reports Intervet. "We are now busy with the quality control of the first batch" says a spokesperson. During this process the vaccine is being tested on cattle, sheep and poultry to determine the strength of the vaccine. By these means we can identify how much vaccine to use per dose."
The safety of the vaccine had been established during earlier tests. The results of the quality control are expected during April. This will be followed by the full production process of the vaccine and we will be able to fulfill the first orders from France and England, followed by the Netherlands."
France and England were first to order the vaccine and will be the first to receive deliveries. It is expected that France and England can start vaccination in April..."
The Netherlands is expecting to start vaccinating in May. About 60 Million doses can be made from the first batch to be produced.

March 28 2008 ~ Bluetongue in the New Forest

DEFRA has extended the bluetongue protection zone, following confirmation of disease on premises in Hampshire. The protection zone is now extended into Wiltshire and further into Hampshire.
The number of premises reported on the DEFRA website has jumped from 110 on 19th March to 122 reported today at 1 p.m. See current zone map.

March 28 2008 ~ "Vaccine will be too late for us.."

The current Cumberland News letter page is particularly interesting and, among letters from other deeply concerned citizens of the Carlisle area, it includes a letter about the possibilities of homeopathic or alternative treatments for Bluetongue. While farmers and livestock owners are unable to get hold of vaccine this may well be worth serious consideration. The letter from Mr and Mrs Thorpe quotes The European Livestock Association's Betty Stikkers, who wrote:
"In our country there were several big herds that were treated with homeopathy last year and it worked well. I just made a plan with a friend who is a homeopathic vet to prevent BT in our flock. Vaccine will be too late for us."
The letter adds that Betty and her friend (president of the International Association for Veterinary Homeopaths - and all homeopathic vets are also fully qualified veterinary surgeons) are now starting with the special treatment in the hope of preventing the disease. They will also give them willow branches "which did a great work last year, and the sheep love them" together with "selenium licks to enhance the condition of the animals"
We are grateful to Mr and Mrs Thorpe and also to Betty Stikkers who has kindly offered to give advice to any warmwell reader. b.stikkers@shetlandsheep.nl.

March 27/28 2008 ~ Intervet's BTV-8 vaccine is about to get official authorisation

The Farmers Guardian reports that the "first vaccine able to protect livestock from the BTV8 strain of the bluetongue virus is on the verge of receiving official authorisation. The Veterinary Medicines Directorate is set to announce soon, possibly as early as next week, that it has granted a provisional licence for Intervet’s BTV8 vaccine."
It is unknown when the first doses will be available. The Intervet product manager, Ian Anderson, is quoted: "Everything is on track and we are very happy with where we are and we are confident we are going to meet our obligation to Defra."

March 27/28 2008 ~ Bluetongue serotype 8 in Italy

Italy, a country that has been careful to refuse unvaccinated imports from France (see below) because of France's BTV-8 outbreaks, has now reported an outbreak of bluetongue serotype 8. Italy's report to the OIE shows that cattle, noticed as sick on March 11th near Verona, have tested positive for serotype 8. The source is described as "Unknown or inconclusive"

March 27 2008 ~ "We need to place orders for that vaccine now" Dr Ruth Watkins

Dr Watkins wrote today: " If the Scottish virologist veterinarians in all their vet schools and research facilities cannot come forward with a unified plan to tackle Europe about the stupid rule of forbidding vaccination outside the protection zone there is no hope for anyone else to do so.
There is not for instance a single such person in Wales.
My view on vaccination confined to the protection zone was made clear in the lecture I gave at Duns I will espouse this view again at Darlington where I have been asked to give a 25 min talk to the sheep veterinary society and asked to make clear my controversial views!
Unlimited vaccine should be available by end of March 2009, giving us the opportunity to vaccinate every ruminant in the UK next winter before April / May; whether the whole of the UK is by then in a protection zone or not, there is an opportunity to declare the whole of the UK a protection zone in the vector free period contingent upon every farmer able to purchase BTV-8 vaccine. We need to place orders for that vaccine now, from additional companies ie Merial or and Fort Dodge or another. That is the strategy we must adopt. It would be within the rules set by Europe and the UK."

March 27 2008 ~ " It seems ridiculous to a virologist to make rules about not vaccinating in the surveillance zone or outside the surveillance zone..."

Extract from Ruth Watkins' talk mentioned above:
".....We are back in the mid 20th century if we continue to act as though we are unable to diagnose virus infection unless we wait for a clinical case to take samples to the virology laboratory. That is the reason for the redundant rule that vaccination is not allowed in the surveillance zone. Why should we be afraid of using vaccination to prevent virus infection from spreading and establishing itself in new areas? Is this because of an unfounded suspicion that somehow vaccination allows animals to be infectious whilst concealing signs of clinical disease?..."
Read in full

March 26 2008 ~ The risk of reassortment of individual BTV gene segments

"Veterinary authorities and legislators throughout northern Europe would do well take note of these recent and considerable changes in the epidemiology of BT," say Claude Saegerman and the other authors of Bluetongue Epidemiology in the European Union et al in the current journal Emerging Iinfectious Diseases Volume 14, Number 4–April 2008
"...the radial extension of BTV-8 across Europe increases the risk for an encounter between this serotype and othersparticularly those that occur in the Mediterranean Basin, where vector activity continues for more of the year. This condition increases the risk for reassortment of individual BTV gene segments....
...best strategic option for control of clinical BT outbreaks in the European endemic areas is vaccination of susceptible animals with inactivated vaccines to protect against disease..... Veterinary authorities and legislators throughout northern Europe would do well take note of these recent and considerable changes in the epidemiology of BT."
The paper, which has useful illustrations, suggests that since BTV is able to survive regularly between vector seasons it may well become endemic to northern Europe.

March 25 ~ SCoFCAH to discuss new draft proposals

The EU Commission is to consider revising the conditions under which live animals may be exported from bluetongue-restricted zones in light of emerging information on the possibility of maternal transmission. New draft proposals will be discussed at a meeting of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCoFCAH) in Brussels next Monday, March 31.

March 25 2008 ~ "....they should be running a simultaneous petition whereby vaccination with accredited vaccines should be allowed in a Bluetongue-free country like Scotland"

Extract from Dr James Irvine's www.land-care.org.uk website of March 20
".....although the relevant stakeholders have all agreed that the appropriate vaccine should be ordered, it is understood no such order has yet been placed......
The core flaw in Scotland's Bluetongue vaccination programme is, of course, the totally inappropriate EC Directive that a member State cannot vaccinate in what the EC designates as Bluetongue-free zone...... if Scotland (or part of it) chooses to declare itself as Protection Zone.... it would have to accept freedom of movement of livestock from other Protection Zones throughout the EU where Bluetongue is rife. It is difficult to comprehend how such nonsensical directives could be formulated had there been competent professional and expert advice sought when the EC was hatching them.
What Nigel Miller, and therefore NFU Scotland, should be doing is lodging two petitions to the EC. Not only should the NFUS be making a strong stand against unnecessary and impractical double tagging of sheep, but even more importantly they should be running a simultaneous petition whereby vaccination with accredited vaccines should be allowed in a Bluetongue-free country like Scotland that is at serious risk of getting the disease......"
The article should be read in full

March 24 2008 ~... this complicated and terrible disease": Christianne Glossop

(quoted on icWales,) the chief vet for Wales has commented on the two new cases discovered just before Easter. She asks
".... What is going to happen when the spring arrives? We know from other parts of the world that cattle, unlike sheep, don’t always show dramatic clinical signs of bluetongue.
....Will we have the kind of epidemic that northern Europe saw last summer, or will we be fortunate enough not to see that this year? Nobody has the answer to that."
However, anyone who seriously thinks we are NOT going to get the epidemic that northern Europe saw last summer must be an extraordinary optimist. The UK has ordered only 22.5 million doses of vaccine and from a single producer. Wales has asked for 2.5 million of these but there are already 1,600,000 farm ruminants within the protection zones The first million doses will come on line in mid May at the earliest. Since EU rules restrict the use of the vaccines to the protection zones and forbid the use of vaccines to protect animals who are not yet considered in range, the chances of achieving coverage in time look bleak. Surveillance has not been adequate for anyone to be sure what areas really are in range - particularly in the light of what is increasingly looking like overwintering of the virus in calves to be born to asymptomatic or negatively testing cows. (The Telegraph has a brief article on this today.)

March 20 2008 ~".....what are we worrying about? We can let the whole lot have bluetongue and save a lot of government money."

When politicians make facetious comments they sometimes forget that Hansard will report them faithfully. The Labour peer, Lord Berkley, asked Lord Rooker on Tuesday whether it was "safe to eat meat from a cow that has bluetongue, adding - " If it is, what are we worrying about? We can let the whole lot have bluetongue and save a lot of government money."

March 20 2008 ~ The Countess of Mar has raised the serious question of maternal transmission, saying that it is vital that we understand the overwintering process for bluetongue

Hansard Most importantly she asked "...What funding has been made available to the Institute for Animal Health to research this issue?" A farmer herself, she felt it important to add:
"Does the noble Lord agree that it would give farmers a lot more confidence in Defra if the officials who compiled the leaflet Bluetongue: How to spot the disease knew the difference between sheep and cattle and that you do not vaccinate a recumbent cow?"
Poor Lord Rooker's reply was gracious as he quickly pointed out that, since the Countess had warned him before the sitting, the website had already been changed to show "the clinical signs in cattle accompanied by photographs of cattle and the clinical signs in sheep accompanied by photographs of sheep." (Example of page from DEFRA booklet.)
However, he slid past her most vital point. Another question will now have to be tabled if we are to know the amount of funding the government is prepared to make for IAH research to be continued into this vital area. (Precious little it would seem, if Lord Berkley's extraordinary ignorance is a measure of Labour thinking. The threat facing livestock farming in the whole of Northern Europe is unprecedented. Never has research into transmission been so desperately needed.)

March 19 2008 ~ 2 more premises

The Declaration of a Protection Zone and a Surveillance Zone declared at 15.45 on 29 February 2008 is revoked and replaced by this declaration. "One case in Hertfordshire requires the Protection Zone to be extended further into Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire. A separate case found in the Surveillance Zone has required the Protection Zone to extend further into Norfolk and Lincolnshire, and the Surveillance Zone further into North and West Yorkshire." DEFRA pdf file (large) or large map here
The Cumbrian News and Star says that the protection zone "has crept closer to the Cumbrian border following confirmation of two new cases of the disease..."

March 19 2008 ~ "We hope...we don't expect anything any more..." Dutch vet, Toon Meesters

The three short interviews by Peter Hollinshead (videos on the Farmers Guardian website) will be of interest to anyone who has not yet seen them. Chris Oura supports the use of the bulk milk test and talks of the evidence in Northern Europe about viraemic calves and over-wintering. He says there is no serological test on antibodies to distinguish between infected and vaccinated animals. But PCR can detect the viral RNA for 200 days post infection. He says orders for vaccine "were put in in October" although the UK, the first to place an order, did so in December.
Particularly affecting is the Dutch vet, Toon Meesters, who, says that in spite of bulk milk testing offered to all farmers in Holland, there can be no end to continuing uncertainty about immunity after infection. Among all the talk of economic losses, he adds sadly:
"But it's also seeing your cows suffering and knowing you can't do anything except treat and nurse and wait..."
In his area of the his practice in the Netherlands between 80% to 90% of the herds were infected and 60% of the cows in those herds were infected. He does not sound optimistic that there will be enough doses, says the disease is already endemic in Northern Europe, and repeats the grave uncertainties that surround this disease. West Sussex vet, Julian Dare, talks of the very few measures that can be taken in the hope of protecting any ruminants who become infected: "good soft bedding", fresh water and - crucially, he says - stress needs to be kept to an absolute minimum. Before vaccines arrive, symptoms can be treated with long-acting antobiotics such as oxyteracycline or penicillin, and long-acting, non-steroidal drugs such as Metacam.

March 18 2008 ~ Joint Campaign Against Bluetongue (JAB)

12 organisations, representing farmers, livestock markets, the meat processing sector and the veterinary profession, have issued a joint statement published yesterday expressing commitment to working together on the campaign achieve mass vaccination of bluetongue susceptible animals. Extract:
"Although the programme will be run on a voluntary basis, JAB is now embarking on a major campaign to urge all farmers with susceptible livestock to vaccinate their animals as soon as vaccine is available."
The Farmers Guardian says the 12 organisations supporting JAB are: NFU, National Sheep Association (NSA) National Beef Association (NBA) Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers (RABDF) British Veterinary Association (BVA) Country Land and Business Association (CLA) Tenant Farmers Association (TFA) Livestock Auctioneers Association (LAA) British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) Association of Independent Meat Suppliers (AIMS) Dairy UK British Cattle Veterinary Association (BCVA) Sheep Veterinary Society (SVS)

March 15 2008 ~ "Sabine Zentis' exemplary contribution is gratefully acknowledged." - ProMed moderator

ProMed -mail's request (in posting 20080306.0916) for field-collected data, in particular relating to the effect of the BTV-8 upon fertility and embryonal development/pathology in bovines and ovines was answered by Sabine Zentis' paper, Suspected effect of maternal infection with BTV-8 on calves born during the calving season 2007/2008 in an infected area: :
".....Since autumn 2007, a massive increase of abortions, stillborn or weak calves as well as fertility problems, have been experienced.
In the absence (or, at least, being unaware of such) of a methodic, thorough veterinary investigation of individual cases, the following information, collected in the field, is hereby reported, while indicating that no clear evidence is available to validate the 8 described cases as resulting from BTV-8 infection. On the other hand, in several cases the involvement of other known teratogenic agents has been ruled out.
[For the detailed descriptions of 8 bovine neonates with changes suspected to be related to fetal BTV-8 infection, including their pictures, the reader is referred to the online communication (pdf). Mod.AS]
The pdf file written by Frau Zentis contains images that show the distressing nature of what is being described.
Read ProMed posting in full

March 14/15 2008 ~ Transplacental movement of BTV is being taken very seriously.

We hear that at least one international expert now considers that the birth of viraemic calves in or near to Spring could lead to Spring populations of Culicoides becoming infected with BTV. This could account for the May seroconversions to BT detected in Germany. The overwintering-via-calves need happen only on a very small scale, but would be sufficient to get the virus-vector ball rolling and for the disease to slowly gather steam - reaching a crescendo late in Summer/early Autumn. He wonders, "Have we not been looking closely enough, proceeding comfortably with our pre-conceived ideas?"

March 14 ~ "The 22 million vaccine doses that the Government have ordered will not be sufficient for blanket vaccination in the time necessary. "

Roger Williams, the Lib Dem MP for Brecon and Radnorshire, said yesterday (Hansard):
"Given the nature of the bluetongue virus and its method of transmission, the problem will continue to face DEFRA and the livestock industry in years to come. The 22 million vaccine doses that the Government have ordered will not be sufficient for blanket vaccination in the time necessary. Will the Secretary take advice and make a risk assessment - an epidemiological assessment - to ensure that the vaccines are used in the places where they will best prevent the spread of the disease rather than on a first come, first serve basis?"
Hilary Benn replied that he had been "taking advice" and that the "core group working on the issue is overseeing the strategy for getting the vaccination programme going..." Whether this amounts to an assurance that an epidemiological risk assessment is to be carried out, or not, is not clear.

Martch 14 ~ Fred Landeg hits back angrily at the FVA, wanting it to ‘publicly retract’ its statement.

The Government’s acting chief veterinary officer, Fred Landeg, has made a angry public rebuttal of the FVA statement reported below, complaining hotly that it was ‘both inaccurate and deeply offensive'. Arguing that the voluntary nature of the campaign was not a cost-cutting exercise, Mr Landeg said the UK wanted to ensure rapid coverage of vaccination of areas of "greatest risk" (sic) allowing a quick "roll-out" when vaccine was delivered. He pointed out, fairly enough, that the UK was the first to place an order for vaccine, and that, under vets' authority, animal keepers would be allowed to administer the vaccine themselves. Read FG article.
However, it seems very unfortunate that someone in such a position as Mr Landeg cannot explain the UK's official position rather more mildly - without feeling the need to demand a public retraction. Making a personal attack on the much respected FVA President by saying Walter Winding's statement was "unbecoming of a professional colleague, who I would expect to act on evidence and not speculation" can surely do the UK's already poor reputation in animal disease control no good at all. (Mr Landeg's assertion that DEFRA wanted to reduce "regulatory burdens" may be thought by some a priceless gem of NewSpeak.)

11 March 2008 ~ FVA says the UK Bluetongue vaccination plan "was probably driven by a strong desire to cut costs, and has little to do with animal health and welfare"

The Federation of Veterinarians of Europe now represents 37 countries and has four professional sections. The statement of its president, Walter Winding, gives a bleak insight into the way many of our European neighbours now consider that 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...."
According to www.animal-health-online.de the FVA feels the UK plan will be unable to make it clear what percentage was vaccinated, when, and if this was carried out correctly. "It would seem unlikely that this would lead to a reliable overview of vaccination coverage, never mind export certification" (More)

11 March 2008 ~ "in terms of logistics and economics, it was preferable to adopt a voluntary approach."

The Farmers Weekly quotes BVA president, Nick Blayney, who is not happy that, as a member of the FVA, the British Veterinary Association was not consulted before the FVA statement criticising the UK plan was put out. He defends the strategy by saying it was drawn up "painstakingly by the stakeholder group" and that "in terms of logistics and economics, it was preferable to adopt a voluntary approach." (The many dissenting voices to this view have not been heard from much, it seems.) His letter to the Vet Record of Feb 16th suggests that Mr Blayney believes that the veterinary profession will be able to persuade livestock owners of the need for mass vaccination but as the FVA points out,
"If animal owners decide not to vaccinate, their animals run the risk of contracting the disease with all the consequences for their health and welfare. Additional problems will occur if animals that were believed vaccinated become sick. Were they really vaccinated, was the vaccine properly used, was there a vaccine breakdown?" (www.animal-health-online.de)
As Mr Blayney says, "our target must be 100 per cent" -

11 March 2008 ~ Fort Dodge: "we are on track to provide much needed vaccine by May..."

Their press release says that Fort Dodge, (already supplying Bluetongue vaccine to France and Spain), has submitted a dossier on its BTV8 for review by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate. Once accepted, this will put the company on target to offer vaccine from May, by which time product availability is scheduled to reach 5 million doses. The press release considers the likely shortfall of vaccine supplies for England and Wales and says that Scotland "may place a tender for 12m doses"
"... our plants are at the forefront of BTV8 development and produce a highly effective product which will help prevent the spread of the disease. The news that we have submitted our BTV8 dossier to the VMD last week is a major milestone in the development of the product and means we are on track to provide much needed vaccine by May."
Read in full

11 March 2008 ~ Wales: only enough vaccine for two counties and then only for 70%

Kirsty Williams, AM for Brecon & Radnorshire is quoted in icwales
"The Government has only purchased 2.5 million bluetongue vaccines which it is understood will only be enough to treat 70% of susceptible animals in Powys and Monmouthshire. These may be the first counties to be affected but what does the Government plan to do if the disease spreads beyond the Marches? It seems apparent that they have not prepared for such a scenario and I am fearful that it will be farmers who pay the price for the Government’s mistake should the disease spread."

10/11 March 2008 ~ Intervet's Bovilis BTV8 "Summary of the Characteristics of the Product"

Warmwell's translation of Intervet's summary of their product can be read here (together with the original french version).
We note that Fort Dodge UK have urged DEFRA to allow it to meet the vaccine supply shortfall, pointing out at a Press Conference today,
"We believe there is going to be a further requirement for doses. If we need more vaccine we need it early, to stop the spread of the disease."
Fort Dodge is therefore offering DEFRA five million doses which can be available by May - but, says the Farmers Guardian, "with other European countries including Germany and Scotland yet to place an order for vaccine, the additional five million doses will be in high demand"
Fort Dodge's UK Managing Director, John Hanley, has, "called on Defra to make a decision as early as possible."

9/10 March 2008 ~ Can the midges be controlled with insecticides?

Section 8 of the EFSA Scientific Report (pdf 137 pages) of 2007 is concerned with vector control. One important sentence reads,
"despite the fact that most of the insecticides in common use worldwide have been shown to be highly toxic to Culicoides adults and also against the larvae, their broad scale application in the field is not justified yet given the current level of detailed knowledge of midge habitat preferences..."
However, one paragraph, concerned with the direct treating of dung, mentions culicoides dewulfi, one of the midges associated with Bluetongue in Northern Europe.
"A number of vectors (C. brevitarsis, C. bolitinos, C. wadai and C. dewulfi) breed in cattle dung meaning that a new generation of midges emerges approximately every 14-21 days and so would be unaffected by any insecticides applied around a premises in preceding days. With dung-inhabiting Culicoides more targeted applications are necessary and may be useful. It has been shown that cattle dung treated with ivermectin is larvicidal to Culicoides for up to 28 days (Webster et al., 1992), which is sufficient as most species complete their developmental cycle in half this time. These four vectors all breed in unadulterated dung lying in the field." (Section 8 of the 2007 EFSA report)
See also below

Sunday March 9 2008 ~ "Working hypothesis•Transplacental infection of 3 calves..."

As the ProMed moderator commented, the update of the BTV-8 situation (pdf of presentation) given to the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health, Brussels 4-5 Mar 2008, by the UK delegation, " included information on the PCR-positive offspring of dams imported to Northern Ireland and Scotland, territories free of BTV, from infected territories in continental Europe."
The presentation concludes with a "working hypothesis"
"....Working hypothesis
•Transplacental infection of 3 calves –Dams exposed to virus–Two calves PCR-including PCR+ heifer’s calf–Colostrum feeding matches results–No injections given–No parousCulicoidesobserved/Air temperatures–Already reported experimentally
•Oral infection of PCR+ heifer–In calving pen after PCR+ calf–Placenta from 1stcalving not removed–Additional bedding only measure taken between calvings–Short interval between occupancy–Potential contact with twin PCR+ calves through gate–Periparturientbehaviour –licking calves–Not recorded route of transmission
•PCR+ Scottish cow–Potential contact with three PCR+ calves –Potential contact with PCR+ heifer."

Saturday 8 March ~ " Could this be taken to suggest that the BTV-8 virus involved is a vaccine strain after all?"

The ProMed posting on foetal viraemia and vaccination, should be read in full. Dr. Peter Roeder: ".... the BTV-8 present in northern Europe is not only unusual in its transmission by novel vectors and ability to cause frank disease and mortality in cattle but it seems also to have acquired another new characteristic -- that of transplacental infection -- which one would normally only associate with vaccine viruses. Could this be taken to suggest that the BTV-8 virus involved is a vaccine strain after all? Surely urgent attention needs to be given to defining the determinants of this new situation.
I am attaching some references related to the matter of BTV transplacental infection in cattle and changes in virus behavior induced by the processes involved in laboratory manipulation of BTV viruses...." More The Moderator comments: ".... the announced IAH research project, addressing the issue of possible BTV-8 fetal viremia in ruminants, is essential for decisions on future bluetongue control policy and its results anticipated with great interest."

Friday 7th March 2008 ~ DEFRA's update shows the UK over the 100 barrier for infected holdings

The figure of 101 was posted on the DEFRA website at 13.00 today. France is now near to or already over 18,000.

Friday 7th March 2008 ~ Scotland agrees at stakeholders meeting to order Bluetongue vaccine without further delay for all its cattle and sheep

James Irvine at Land Care.org has written, "At the stakeholders meeting this morning Charles Milne, Scotland's Chief Veterinary Officer, agreed to put in motion the ordering of sufficient Bluetongue vaccine serotype 8 to cover all the cattle and sheep in Scotland. It is a great relief that there will be no further delays in reaching this important, but somewhat belated, decision.
Hopefully the practicalities of placing the order, and when it will be delivered, will be handled with all possible speed...." Read in full.

March 7 2008 ~ "The main question is whether the virus has overwintered..."

Medical News Today reports on the statements in this week's Veterinary Record, by the meteorologist John Gloster, colleagues from the Met Office and the Institute for Animal Health at Pirbright, who "have examined the meteorological conditions leading up to the first British case of the disease" They are warning that the timing of the vacination campaign is crucial ".The main question is whether the virus has overwintered and we should have that answer to that over the next few weeks. It's certainly possible that the disease could easily re-establish in the coming months'..".

March 7 2008 ~ Research on the overwintering of the virus

From research carried out in 2004 and 2005 by D.M White et al. Extract: "Overwintering of bluetongue virus in the invertebrate vector"
"...The hypothesis that BTV overwinters through vertical transmission of the virus by infected adult C. sonorensis to their overwintering larval progeny is supported by our previous studies..... . BTV antigen was detected in the vitelline membrane of infected, adult females and proteoid yolk bodies of their oocytes, but not in the ovarian tissue itself. This demonstration of ‘dense’ BTV antigen in the reproductive structures in which it was found (33) would suggest that vertical transmission could occur. Vertical transmission of flaviviruses in mosquitoes occurs via the micropyle as the egg passes through the oviducts during oviposition (40). A similar mechanism could function for vertical transmission of BTV in C. sonorensis."
Understanding the research goes far beyond the competence of this website - but extracts may be viewed here.

March 6 2008 ~ New Scientist: "EU puts farmers in a bluetongue catch-22"

Debora Mackenzie of the New Scientist on the situation in which Europe finds itself - with inadequate vaccine and hindered by the bizarre EU rule that has, up til now at least, refused permission to virus free areas to vaccinate pre-emptively without being designated "Protection Zones" themselves. (However, see also today's note on this rule below ).
This week's Magazine issue 2646 (subscription) "Tiny biting flies are emerging across Europe this week as spring returns. At 15 ^oC, any bluetongue virus they are carrying will start replicating, and the disease will spread. Unless sheep and cattle in its path are vaccinated it could ravage Europe's sheep flocks. But it seems unlikely there will be enough vaccine to stop the virus spreading. What's more, European Union regulations mean what vaccine there is cannot be used to stop it invading new areas. .." (Read article in full)

March 6 2008 ~ News from Brussels

Export of pregnant ruminants from Bluetongue restriction zones to Bluetongue free zones and third countries is now forbidden, until these animals can be vaccinated before insemination. The possibility of maternal transmission of active virus (see below) is evidently being taken very seriously
It also seems to be the case now that animals from areas that are as yet uninfected, but which choose to vaccinate, will still be allowed to leave the "restricted zones" ( the fact of vaccination will confer restricted status on those zones) - as long as virus circulation has not been demonstrated. We await confirmation of this. On the 5th March, the EU's Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health had backed a draft amendment by the European Commission to Regulation 1266/2007 on bluetongue concerning "the harmonisation of requirements for the movement of pregnant females and newborn animals, in order to prevent risks associated with the possible trans-placental transmission of bluetongue" and Northern Ireland's ban looks likely to remain in force until this new amendment is passed.

March 6 2008 ~ VAT will be added to the cost of bluetongue vaccine

The Farmers Guardian reports on the price of vaccine:
"The vaccine will be available in 50ml and 20ml bottles, and will be available through private vets via veterinary wholesalers. The wholesale ‘list’ price will be £22.02 for the 50ml bottles and £13.10 for the 20ml bottles. The final on-farm price is likely to be around £27.50 - £33.00 for the 50ml bottles (i.e. 55-66p per ml) and around £16.35 - £19.65 for the 20ml bottles (i.e. 82-98p per ml). VAT will also be added in order to cover the overhead, handling and administration charges throughout the distribution process...."
The size of the dose is likely to be 1ml, but, says FWi, "this is subject to the ongoing discussions between Intervet and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate as part of the vaccine licensing process".
Interesting to read that Professor Mellor in the IAH release below says
"we have a once-only opportunity to eliminate the virus from the UK before it devastates our ruminant industry..."
and that the BVA President Nick Blayney has said of vaccination coverage that "our target must be 100 per cent". It would be interesting indeed to know the overall price Intervet is charging DEFRA (see below) for the vaccine that is to be sold on to farmers in this way. (Defra's delivery plan says, "The vaccine ordered so far by Defra will cost approximately £11 million." i.e. the cost price appears to be about 49p a dose ) One can only hope that the take-up will be almost universal in spite of the price. At least farmers in the UK will be allowed to do their own vaccination if they wish to - whereas countries getting EU co-financing are not allowed to per