Farming leaders are calling for faster action on bluetongue as the midge-borne disease spreads through the West Country, with Exmoor among the worst-affected areas of the country.
There have been more than 80 confirmed cases of bluetongue across the UK since the start of July, the great majority of them in England. The South West has emerged as a particular hotspot, with a high proportion of cases confirmed in the Exmoor area, and lower vaccination levels this season are causing serious concern.
The disease poses no risk to the public. Bluetongue does not affect people or food safety, and it cannot be caught from meat or milk. What it does threaten is the health of cattle and sheep, and the livelihoods of the families who keep them.
Spread by biting midges, bluetongue affects all ruminants, including sheep, cattle, goats and deer, as well as camelids such as llamas and alpacas. It can reduce milk yield, cause sickness and lower reproductive performance, while movement controls force some farmers to change their usual routes to market and can shut off access to export trade. The cruellest toll falls at calving and lambing: animals infected before birth can be born small and weak.
Vaccination remains the main line of defence, but the picture on supply is far from reassuring. The vaccines currently permitted are suppressive rather than preventative, reducing the clinical signs of the disease without stopping animals becoming infected, and farmers must obtain them on prescription through their own vet. A further vaccine, BLUEVAC-3, is not expected to be available until the middle of October, and then only under a phased rollout targeted at high-risk counties first.
James Wright, who farms on Exmoor, said Defra had been too slow off the mark.
"Ministers have known this was coming for two years now, and yet here we are with the South West in the firing line and not enough vaccine in the right places at the right time," he said. "Farmers on Exmoor are anxiously waiting to see if their stock will be hit. Defra should have gripped this earlier. It must now sit down with the veterinary profession and the manufacturers and make certain there is enough vaccine to go round, before this gets worse."
Farmers who suspect bluetongue in their animals must report it at once to the Defra Rural Services Helpline on 03000 200 301. It is a notifiable disease, and failing to report it is an offence.
