Bluetongue disease impacting Dutch dairy sector despite vaccine

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 ...