September 29, 2023 at 10:07 AM Animals
AMSTELVEEN The viral disease bluetongue is spreading rapidly among sheep and also among cattle. An overview by the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) shows that the disease has already been diagnosed at 319 companies this week. This includes five companies in Amstelveen, three in Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, five in Haarlemmermeer, two in Aalsmeer and one in Uithoorn. Bluetongue appeared for the first time at the beginning of this month at four companies in Wijdemeren (North Holland) and Stichtse Vecht (Utrecht). Agricultural organization LTO Netherlands calls the situation worrying.
Many infected sheep in particular do not survive the disease. Infections in other animals such as cattle and goats proceed as follows the NVWA often with less serious symptoms.
KNUTS
Bluetongue is a viral disease that occurs in sheep and other ruminants such as goats and cattle. Deer and camelids can also get it. The disease is transmitted by midges (small mosquitoes). The disease is not transmissible to humans. The virus itself is not fatal for infected animals, but animals can still die due to complications resulting from the infection (such as poor eating and drinking due to pain). Sheep in particular suffer a lot from the disease.
VACCINE
According to Jeanette van de Ven, portfolio holder for Healthy Animals, the agricultural organization LTO has already received more than four hundred reports of outbreaks. This includes more and more cattle farms. LTO wants a safe vaccine to be available as soon as possible. The Ministry of Agriculture is currently investigating whether such a vaccine exists in countries outside Europe against the type of bluetongue that is currently prevalent in the Netherlands.
COST
So far, bluetongue infections have mainly occurred in North Holland and Central Netherlands, where the first outbreaks also occurred. LTO supports affected livestock farmers, because they have to partly pay for the costs incurred due to an outbreak.
Bluetongue first appeared in the Netherlands in 2006. It took until 2008 for the animal disease to disappear from the Netherlands again, according to Wageningen Bioveterinary Research, a part of Wageningen University that tests samples from animals possibly infected with bluetongue.
2023-09-29 08:07:00
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