Italy: Bluetongue, two thousand outbreaks, and eight thousand dead heads in Sardinia

The epidemic is also spreading due to the lack of a vaccine for serotype 3. The most serious situation is in the province of Oristano There are almost two thousand outbreaks of blue tongue in Sardinia and just over 8,500 dead sheep out of 65,259 infections. This is highlighted by data from the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Sardinia. The epidemic has spread across the island in recent weeks also due to the lack of a vaccine authorized by the Ministry of Health for serotype 3, which is currently the most widespread in Sardinia. The majority of infections (420) are found in the Oristano area where in the last week the dead animals have more than doubled: from 536 to 1,136 with an increase of 115%. But the infected sheep have also grown dramatically (10,970, +75%) and the outbreaks reached by the virus (up 64%). Never so widespread in the last 20 years «Unfortunately, the same trend that we are also recording at a regional level - explained the director of the Animal ...