Blue Tongue Disease and Vaccinations

Hi everyone

 This is an information post on blue tongue disease that is currently extremely serious in Cornwall and Devon at the moment. Blue tongue is a disease carried by biting midges that affects ruminants, so sheep, goats, alpaca and cattle.

It leads to swelling of nose and mouth, ulcerations and sores, drooling, excessive mucus from nose, high temp, and can lead to death. As it's a virus, there is no way of treating once the animal is infected - we can give supportive care such as anti inflammatories and antibiotics. Our only form of defence is to vaccinate, and hope that it reduces the symptoms, and the risk of death.

 How serious is it? Well the media are not reporting on just how bad it is currently. APHA who deal with the reporting are over 2 weeks behind updating their maps - my vet alone is dealing with 60 separate farms (not cases) with it and only ONE case is showing on the map at the moment. I've seen a single Devon vet practice dealing with 80 farms... a dead stock collection company who normally pick up 100 dead sheep a week across their patch collected 800 dead sheep this week. It is VERY very serious, and although we are being supported by our vets (our practice are working 12 hour days with call outs at the moment) the Government seems to be oblivious, and there is very little help.

Farmers have to pay vet call out charges, and the gov are only paying for testing of 3 animals per farm - which, in cases of farms with 100s of sheep - it will obviously be severely underreported. We have just vaccinated everything.

Keep us, and all other farmers in your thoughts - the disease is likely to reach it's peak in September and October, so we are really just at the start. Really worrying times.