Vaccination against bluetongue serotype 3 is not possible for the time being in Netherlands

It is currently not possible to vaccinate against bluetongue serotype 3, which is currently causing many problems in sheep and cattle in the Netherlands. The authorized vaccines in the Netherlands are effective against serotypes 1, 4 and 8, but not against serotype 3. This is what LNV Minister Piet Adema wrote in a letter to the House of Representatives. The minister also announced that an infection with this notifiable disease has been detected at more than a thousand companies in the Netherlands. This concerns almost 300 cattle farms and 700 sheep farms. Goats and alpacas are also affected. The spread of the bluetongue virus across the Netherlands appears to follow the expected pattern, the Animal Diseases Expert Group concludes. Serotype 3 also appears to cause more symptoms than serotype 8 in the years 2006-2008. The weather plays an important role in the transmission of the virus. Bluetongue is transmitted by midges. When the maximum daytime temperature remains below ten ...