1,517 cases of bluetongue have been confirmed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) so far this 2026/2027 season.

These cases of bluetongue serotype 3 (BTV-3) or unspecified serotype have been recorded across Great Britain, including:

1,326 cases in England
159 cases in Wales
32 cases in Scotland

No cases for serotype 8 (BTV-8) have been recorded so far in the 2026/2027 bluetongue season.

There are currently 1,465 potential cases of bluetongue under investigation where suspicious clinical signs have been reported and are waiting to receive the test results.

In the past week, 61 new cases have been confirmed.

These include 48 new cases confirmed in England on 18 September in Cornwall, Devon and Somerset. Of these cases, 35 involved sheep and 13 involved cattle.

Wales has seen 13 new cases as of September 19.

New measures

Vets in England can now diagnose clear cases of bluetongue after examining affected animals, meaning farmers do not have to wait on results and can be diagnosed on clinical signs alone.

This allows for animals with obvious signs of the virus to be diagnosed immediately instead of taking blood samples for testing.

Private vets will contact the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) to confirm the diagnosis.

Usual safeguards for other diseases remain in place. If the vet cannot rule out another reason for the clinical signs then the usual laboratory precautions will continue.

Support

A government-funded vet visit will now be available for sheep and cattle farmers through the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway.

The visit will include checking the animals for the disease, advise on the risks of bluetongue, and suggest how to reduce them.

British farmers are being urged to vaccinate their livestock for this season as well as planning next year’s vaccination as the virus is likely to overwinter.

The government is working with manufacturers to increase the supply of vaccines.

Ireland

Bluetongue continues to rise in Ireland since the first case was confirmed in early September.

There are now five cases of the disease in herds located in Wexford, Wicklow and Kildare along the east coast.

These animals exhibited various different clinical signs and were subsequently tested.