Warning over bluetongue risk as two cases confirmed in Britain

THE danger of bluetongue being brought into Ireland through imported animals was highlighted again yesterday after two new cases of the disease were confirmed in England.

Both cases, the first tobe found in Britain this summer, were in rams imported from the same premises in a bluetongue restricted zone in central France, according to the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in London.

Defra said the cases were found on premises near Lewes in East Sussex, and at Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire. There was no evidence that the disease was being circulated by midges in the areas where the cases were found.

DEFRA confirmed that the cases were detected as a result of post-import testing on all animals coming from the continent which are susceptible to the disease.

Bluetongue, which can be fatal to animals, is transmitted between livestock such as cows and sheep by midges.

There have been 140 confirmed cases of the disease in Britain since summer 2007. The virus was recently confirmed as circulating in the Netherlands and large areas of France.

Farmers on the island of Ireland are being urged to remain on their guard as part of the efforts by the authorities north and south to keep the disease out.

The main risk continues to be the importation of infected animals.

ICMSA Beef and Cattle Committee chairperson Martin McMahon said every individual in the agriculture sector, be they farmers, meat processors, livestock agents and dealers, has a major duty to minimise the risk of bluetongue spreading to Ireland.