Bluetongue vaccination impact on Region's farmers

A mass vaccination strategy to halt the spread of the midge-borne bluetongue virus will cost livestock farmers from 55p per dose, it was revealed yesterday.

Farmers in the eastern and southern counties want to protect their stock from the virus, which spread like wildlife across the whole of northern Europe, by vaccinating all cattle, sheep, goats and farmed deer as soon as possible.

Since the country's first case of bluetongue was confirmed on September 22 there have been 88 outbreaks in herds and flocks.

The "dead" vaccine will cost from 55p to 66p per dose - expected to be 1ml for sheep, and 2ml for cattle as the first batch of two million doses is expected by May 31.

Mid-Norfolk farmer Roger Long, who visited northern France last November to understand the impact of bluetongue, said vaccination is the only realistic strategy to prevent suffering in infected animals.

All livestock must be vaccinated to prevent further spread from the existing reservoir of infection in animals, which have been bitten by one of four species of virus-carrying midges.

Mr Long, who is a regional member of the National Farmers' Union's livestock board, said that livestock in northern Europe were first infected in August 2006 in a flock of 28 sheep in the Netherlands. By the end of 2006, Holland had 456 cases, with 885 in Germany and 695 in Belgium.

In 2007, the virus returned and infected 6,423 herds and flocks, and was then carried across the North Sea to Suffolk, Norfolk and Essex last August. There were 50,000 bluetongue cases in the EU as a whole last year.

The NFU's vaccination strategy, which Defra backs, could halt the spread of the virus. Mr Long, who farms at Scarning, near Dereham, said that bluetongue - which has moved northwards from southern Africa - causes horrible suffering to animals and often death.

To achieve real control, it will be essential to vaccinate at least 80pc of animals in the protection zone, which stretches from Peterborough, through Norfolk down the coast and across the central and southern counties and across to Devon.

There are 1,788,100 ruminants including 435,100 cattle, 1.327m sheep, 6,400 farmed deer and 19,400 goats in the existing protection zone.

Defra has ordered 22.5 million doses, costing £11.5m.

A large 50ml bottle will cost between £27.50 and £33 but the small 20ml will cost between £16.35 and £19.65 (82p to 98p per ml), plus Vat. The wholesale or list price will be £22.02 and £13.10 for the small bottle.

Sheep will require one dose and cattle two doses, but the exact dose has not yet been finalised.

Bluetongue virus may survive the winter by passing from infected animals to their offspring via the womb, the Institute of Animal Health has warned.

Prof Philip Mellor, head of bluetongue research, said: "In essence we have a once-only opportunity to eliminate the virus from the UK before it devastates our ruminant industry as it has already done on the near continent in 2007."

Mr Long saw a case of maternal transmission in a 12-day-old bull calf in France. "It was horrible. I saw it in a Belgian Blue bull calf - his tongue and face was all swollen."

Source: Eastern Daily Press