The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association (ICMSA) has urged for "more energy" from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine on bluetongue vaccination.

ICMSA livestock chairperson Michael O'Connell has expressed disappointment at the detection of the latest case of bluetongue virus (BTV) while commending the fact that the infection was "picked up".

DAFM confirmed in recent days that a heifer in Co. Wexford has tested positive for BTV serotype 3 (BTV-3).

This is the first case of BTV-3 detected in Ireland where infection occurred in 2026.

The department said the case was confirmed during a post-mortem examination on the 16 month-old animal, which was not vaccinated against the disease.

Vigilance urged

ICMSA's Michael O'Connell has stressed the importance of farmers being vigilant over the next few weeks for clinical signs of bluetongue as the temperatures remain ambient for midge replication.

Noting that the sector is in an extremely challenging year in terms of both cashflow and weather, the livestock chairperson said that the case for vaccination is "even more compelling".

He urged herdowners who have not yet had their herds vaccinated to contact their vet and seek their advice on best practice at this stage in the year.

"We think that farmers should be insisting that all fallen animals are also tested for BTV," he said.

UK cases

O'Connell said it was "inevitable" that the first BTV-3 positive case has been seen since this spring as the virus has become rife in the UK.

The number of positive cases has increased substantially in the UK and O'Connell said it is believed that vaccination uptake has "not been as successful in the UK as in Ireland".

"The somewhat passive narrative around spread of the virus in the UK and the hit-and-miss application of vaccine has really came back to bite as the unseen consequences such as embryonic loss have begun to hit home financially for UK farmers," O'Connell said.

Although the uptake of usage of BTV-3 vaccination has been quite positive, O'Connell urged the DAFM to look further into the dosage size of vaccines as the "one size fits all approach was not suitable and hampering effective vaccination".

“If we continue to only have access to 50-shot packs, we are going to see an awful lot of wastage as not every herd has 50 or 100 animals or exact multiples of 50," O'Connell said.

"The idea of farmers sharing vaccines is ultimately not a recommended scenario either due to handling constraints or cross-contamination if cases of BTV occur on-farm.

"The viability of the vaccine overall should be a separate question from how the vaccine should be handled and distributed in a way that minimises cross-contamination and herd security."

Biosecurity

O’Connell said the ICMSA has previously engaged with manufacturers of BTV-3 vaccine regarding the dosage sizes, the onset of immunity and the procedure following the first year’s vaccination programme.

"ICMSA is calling on the department to engage with the BTV vaccine manufacturers regarding production of smaller pack sizes," he said.

This will give all farmers "ample opportunity" to access the vaccine "without wasting money" on vaccine that is not used, he said.

O'Connell added that while the ICMSA understands "it is not possible to fence out or keep out midges", implementing other biosecurity measures is "paramount and it is up to DAFM to encourage vaccination".