Bluetongue is the tip of the iceberg in terms of vector-borne animal diseases that are coming in Ireland’s direction.
This is the very clear assertion of veterinary toxicologist, Alan Murphy. He works with the UK’s Animal Plant and Health Agency (APHA).
He explained: “The challenge posed by vector-borne diseases will continue to grow over the coming years.
“Bluetongue is already here. But a number of other diseases are also coming our way. These include: lumpy skin disease and epizootic haemorrhagic disease or EHD.
“EHD primarily impacts deer. But it will spread to cattle. And nothing can stop the spread of these diseases from Europe into the UK and Ireland.
“Climate change is facilitating the movement of midges from country to country.”
Where bluetongue is concerned, the APHA representative believes that the disease will impact significantly on the Irish cattle sector over the coming years.
He commented: “Bluetongue arrived in the UK in 2023.
“What we are seeing now is the birth of calves in large numbers with terminal neurological disorders.”
Murphy will be discussing these issues in a webinar to be hosted by EasyCare Sheep Ireland on Wednesday (February 18).
He qualified from Glasgow Veterinary School in 1990 and spent 16 years in livestock practice in north-west England.
Currently, he is the current veterinary lead for toxicology and chemical feed and food safety with APHA, and has a long-standing relationship with the Moredun Research Institute, which conducts research into diseases affecting farm livestock.
Bluetongue
Meanwhile, with the spring lambing and calving season about to get underway in earnest, livestock farmers across the island of Ireland are on tenterhooks, wondering how the bluetongue virus will impact on their flocks and herds.
The Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) has warned that Northern Ireland farmers are being left in a “state of uncertainty and limbo” due to what it called an ongoing lack of information from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) around the wider implications of bluetongue, particularly in relation to trade and animal movements.
UFU deputy president, Glenn Cuddy, said farmers are “increasingly frustrated by the lack of clear, timely information”.
He added: “Farmers are in the dark. There has been heading on for two weeks now with little to no meaningful communication, and that simply isn’t acceptable in a situation of this seriousness.
“We have formally asked DAERA for clarity, yet farmers are still waiting for answers. There is radio silence on the key questions that really matter to farm businesses.
“At present, DAERA cannot give us a clear answer on the trade implications with the Republic of Ireland, or on east–west movements between Northern Ireland and mainland Great Britain.”
