Bluetongue cases detected in three counties

Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (ICOS) president Edward Carr said: 'It’s clear that disease is more widespread than we initially thought, and it’s likely to spread further when conditions become milder'

Bluetongue is a viral disease affecting cattle, sheep, goats deer, llamas and alpacas. File picture

Three further bluetongue outbreaks have been detected in Ireland this week, bringing the total number of affected herds to six.

It's understood that two of the cases were discovered in post-abortion testing — one in a blood test and the other in sampling from an aborted foetus.