Bluetongue disease impacting Dutch dairy sector despite vaccine

Published 2024년 8월 29일

Tridge summary

Bluetongue disease, caused by the bluetongue virus serotype 3, reemerged in the Netherlands in September 2023, marking its return after 14 years, and has spread to neighboring countries. The disease, transmitted by biting midges, primarily affects ruminants such as sheep and cattle, causing symptoms like lethargy and lameness in sheep and reduced milk production in cows. The disease does not affect humans. The outbreak has led to the death of over 51,000 sheep and prompted the emergency use of vaccines, with varying effectiveness, in late April 2024. The disease's rapid spread and the low vaccination rate in cattle have led to concerns about its impact on sheep farming and the industry's financial stability. The Dutch Organization for Sheep Farming has sought government attention to the situation, and reports indicate that the clinical symptoms in affected animals are milder this year, although mortality rates are yet to be determined.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

In September 2023, bluetongue disease returned to the Netherlands after 14 years, according to a recent report from the USDA FAS. Spread throughinfected flying insects called biting midges (Culicoides spp.), the virus was identified as bluetongue virus serotype 3 (BTV-3). The disease causes illness in ruminants such as sheep, and cattle (but also goats and alpacas), and has an incubation time of 5-20 days. It cannot spread between animals, as the midge is the vector for the disease, nor does it pose any danger to humans. At the end of 2023, 4,300 farms had been affected, of which 1,990 had sheep and 2,200 had cattle. An additional 1,579 locations reported signs of illness but had no official testing done. In total 51,819 sheep died of the disease. For sheep, the symptoms of the virus are lethargy, lameness, damage in the mouth, swollen eyes, nose, or head and nasal discharge. The morbidity is high among sheep, with around 1,600 sheep dying per day. A questionnaire by the Dutch ...

Source: The Cattle Site