Government alerts around bluetongue sharpened this week after a sheep on a third farm in the same area of Scotland tested positive for the virus. The latest case came as livestock owners in Dumfries and Galloway rushed for vaccines and practices moved to manage waiting lists.
Sheila Voas on the new case
Sheila Voas said the latest case of bluetongue serotype 3 was found in a sheep less 2km from the existing cases. That places the new positive inside the same small cluster that began on Saturday, when the first case in Scotland was found in a lamb in Dumfries and Galloway, before two sheep at a neighbouring farm tested positive on Wednesday.
All four animals that tested positive for the virus have been euthanised on welfare grounds, and restrictions have been put on the farms. Other susceptible animals are being tested. For livestock keepers nearby, the immediate issue is not just the three farms already named in the outbreak but the speed at which testing and control measures are being pushed through the surrounding holdings.
John Hamilton and vaccine demand
John Hamilton of Arc Vets in Lockerbie said the practice was receiving 100 calls a day from livestock owners about vaccines this week. Arc Vets had 20,000 doses in stock at the start of the week, and he said that disappeared over 48 hours
.
Hamilton also said vaccine uptake was poorer this year, adding that it may be caught a few places out
. That matters because the surge in demand has arrived after the first cases, not before them, and practices are now trying to work out how much vaccine can still be found for people who want to protect stock.
Testing around Dumfries and Galloway
NFU Scotland said about 100 animals in the area around the affected holdings had been tested for the virus. It also said initial indications suggest incidence remains low, but the picture is still developing while other susceptible animals are checked.
The group said the Scottish government is engaging with vaccine manufacturers over potential additional supplies, and NFU Scotland is working to establish the level of demand from livestock keepers across the country. Its advice was direct: Where producers want to vaccinate, it is important that every effort is made to ensure sufficient vaccine is available.
NFU Scotland added that The situation remains fluid, and it is likely to be another week or so before we have a clearer picture of whether the disease is circulating.
For now, the outbreak is being tracked farm by farm, with the main question whether the virus stays inside the three affected holdings or shows up elsewhere in the area.
