Bluetongue vaccines offer hope
Bluetongue disease has arrived in the UK
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Friday, 19, Oct 2007 12:07
Vaccinations against bluetongue look like being the most effective measure against the disease, a government expert has said.
Dr Simon Carpenter, a specialist in biting insects at the Institute for Animal Health, said the option appeared the most effective long-term solution for farmers attempting to protect their livestock from the disease.
Bluetongue control zones now cover most of England and the Welsh government has reversed a decision not to allow the transport of any animals into the country from the control zone for slaughter - a move which has come as some relief to many farmers.
But many continue to call for a return to sheep dips in order to fend off the Culicoides midge which spreads the virus.
Dr Carpenter told BBC Radio 4's Farming Today programme that no scientific evidence existed backing the effectiveness of such a treatment against the disease.
"As they are currently banned and the Environment Agency isn't particularly happy about their use, I can't see them coming back any time in the near future," he said.
Rejecting aerial spraying methods, he instead suggested: "There's quite a few risk mitigation exercises which you can do: increase spacing between livestock at dusk and dawn when the midges are most commonly biting; you can also try moving your dung heap away from your livestock which will cut down the number of midges.
"All these things together may slow down the transmission of the virus but they won't knock it out completely," he added.
Dr Carpenter backed vaccination against the disease as the best solution, however.
"That's something that has come up recently… several companies are starting to produce inactivated vaccine so that will be one thing in our armoury which will be useful, and again these mitigation techniques can actually reduce transmission and stop the virus spreading so quickly."