Latest government figures show there have been 266 cases of bluetongue in Great Britain in the 2025 bluetongue season.
According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in England there have been 245 cases of bluetongue -including 237 cases of only bluetongue virus serotype 3 (BTV-3) – while in Wales there have been 21 cases.
There have been no cases in Scotland.
Meanwhile in Northern Ireland there are four confirmed cases of the bluetongue virus (BTV-3).
According to the World Organisation for Animal Health 26 different serotypes of bluetongue have been identified and the ability of each strain to cause disease “varies considerably”.Â
Bluetongue
The latest cases to be identified in England included three cattle in east Sussex and four cattle in Kent on December 23.
According to Defra the risk of incursion of bluetongue virus (including serotypes not currently circulating in England) from all routes remains at “medium” although the risk of airborne incursion is now negligible.
It highlighted that temperatures have “continued to reduce in recent weeks, and experts consider the risk of onward spread by vectors in the south-east, East Anglia, the south-west and the north-east to be negligible”.
“There is however still a risk that animals can get infected from already infected midges or from infected germinal products,” it warned.
VaccinesÂ
There are currently three BTV-3Â vaccines that can be used in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, these include:
- Bluevac-3;
- Bultavo 3;
- SYVAZUL BTV 3.
In Northern Ireland livestock keepers must apply for a specific licence to obtain a vaccine and once a vaccine has been administered all details including the name of the vaccine and the animal vaccinated must be reported to DAERA within five working days.
Vaccinated animals cannot be tested as part of a pre-movement test in bluetongue zones until seven days after their vaccination as this would prevent interference with bluetongue monitoring.
