A further three cases of bluetongue virus (BTV) in cattle have been identified in the Sandwich Bay area of Kent, the UK government has confirmed.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) said that “active surveillance” in the north-east Kent temporary control zone (TCZ) had identified the three further cases.
All three are from the same herd where five positives for BTV were identified on December 15.
In a statement Defra and APHA said: “All three animals will be humanely culled to minimise the risk of onward transmission.
“The TCZ is not being extended and movement restrictions continue to apply to cattle, sheep and other ruminants in the zone.”
Bluetongue
This brings the total number of cases identified in the UK to date to 22 on eight different holdings.
“There is currently still no evidence that bluetongue virus is circulating in Great Britain.
“Surveillance is ongoing,” Defra and APHA added.
A single case of BTV was first identified in a cow in Kent last month. Previously to this confirmation, the last outbreak in England, Scotland or Wales had been in 2007.
A TCZ with a radius of 10km was established around the first case in Kent which was then extended to a larger zone.
A number of different types of bluetongue are currently circulating in Europe including:
- BTV-3;
- BTV-4;
- BTV-8.
BTV type 3 was confirmed in cattle and sheep in north-east Kent.
At the beginning of this month, routine surveillance also identified two cases of bluetongue in cattle on a farm near Cantley, Broadland, Norfolk.
A 10km TCZ was also established around the premises, and both animals were humanely culled to minimise the risk of transmission.
The virus is transmitted by midge bites. It affects cows, goats, sheep and camelids such as llamas.
Farmers have been advised that vaccination is available for some types of bluetongue.
According to Defra, adult cattle may serve as a source of BTV for several weeks, “while displaying little or no clinical signs of disease, and are often the preferred host for insect vectors”.