Bluetongue Virus

Mark Spencer Excerpts

Thursday 23rd May 2024 Written Statements

[The Minister for Food, Farming and Fisheries (Sir Mark Spencer)]

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is publishing its framework for managing an outbreak of bluetongue virus serotype 3 in England.

Bluetongue is a disease affecting ruminants (such as cattle, sheep and deer) and camelids (such as llamas and alpacas) and is spread primarily by biting midges. It does not affect people or food safety.

BTV-3 first appeared in the Netherlands in September last year. We immediately stopped imports of susceptible species and related products from the affected region and required all imports from neighbouring regions to be tested for bluetongue to prevent the potential import of disease, and we continue to do this.

However, our proximity to the continent and the prevalence of disease puts us at risk of wind-borne incursion of infected biting midges, regardless of our stringent border controls. We detected our first case of BTV-3 in November 2023 as part of our annual bluetongue surveillance programme in Kent, then later in Norfolk.

We moved rapidly to contain disease by establishing temporary control zones in both locations, humanely culling animals that presented a risk of onwards transmission, and undertaking extensive testing and surveillance to understand prevalence and spread. Some 47,425 tests were undertaken, identifying 126 infected animals across 73 premises in four counties. Following this surveillance, there have been no further detections of BTV-3 and there are no current bluetongue temporary control zones in force.

While this represents a very low prevalence, we must not be complacent about the challenge this could pose to our livestock sector. Our latest risk assessment indicates that there is a high likelihood of a new introduction of bluetongue into livestock in Great Britain from wind-borne biting midges from northern Europe this year.

This disease control framework for bluetongue virus serotype 3 in England in 2024, published today by the Department, looks to mitigate the impacts of such an incursion on our vitally important livestock and farming sectors.

Although animal health and disease control are devolved matters, disease does not respect boundaries and the Government and devolved Administrations work closely through the UK-wide animal diseases policy group to consider and plan for animal disease outbreaks, and BTV-3 is no exception. Close working on the response to last year’s incursion and planning for 2024 has taken place, and continues to take place, to ensure consistency of approach as far as possible. This framework recognises that England’s proximity to disease on the continent confers a likely additional responsibility on the Department to stem spread to other parts of the United Kingdom. The Government will work closely with the devolved Administrations to support the objectives of the Great Britain bluetongue disease control strategy https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bluetongue-gb-disease-control-strategy and the UK contingency plan for exotic notifiable diseases of animals https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/great-britain-and-northern-ireland-contingency-plan-for-exotic-notifiable-diseases-of-animals.

The framework has been developed on the back of extensive analysis of the potential trajectory of disease and close engagement with sector representatives on our livestock core group, as well as roundtables held with a wide range of sector groups. It provides an overarching guide to how any bluetongue outbreak will be managed so that livestock keepers and other potentially affected businesses can understand the possible effects for them individually and collectively. We want to ensure that our control strategy is proportionate. We will continue to work with industry to keep it briefed on the latest disease and veterinary assessments.

A safe and effective vaccine will be the best long-term protection against BTV-3. The Department and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate began conversations with manufacturers back in February and several vaccines are in development. Some have in recent weeks been expedited for emergency use on the continent. This is not the approach that the Department has settled with industry.

It is clear that confidence in the safety and efficacy of any vaccine is of paramount importance, not only for encouraging good take-up among keepers, but in protecting exports of beef, lamb and dairy products. The vaccine approved by the Dutch authorities has emergency use approval but not market authorisation. Vaccines without market authorisation can have potentially negative implications for trade and may impact our strong export market for meat and dairy products.

That is why we continue to actively engage with vaccine manufacturers on the development of an authorised BTV-3 vaccine and published a prior information note on 10 May to identify further potential suppliers. We are also actively monitoring vaccine data from EU countries and engaging with their Governments to learn from their experiences.

While this essential due diligence is undertaken, aside from some potential small-scale culling at the outset to prevent disease becoming established, disease control efforts primarily centre on movement controls of susceptible livestock and germinal products. These have the effect of delaying spread but cannot hold back disease indefinitely or eradicate it—as circulation becomes established in biting midge populations and their range expands over time, movement controls lose their effectiveness and will need to be modified or withdrawn. The plan sets out some of the steps that will be considered in tightening or lifting movement controls over time.

The framework also recognises the impact that movement controls can have on animal keepers and other affected businesses. It seeks to minimise burdens as far as practically possible, while maintaining the integrity of measures to mitigate risk of spread of this exotic disease. This includes, for example, a new online system that keepers can use to apply to the Animal and Plant Health Agency for licences to move their animals from disease control zones in the event of an outbreak.

Supporting farmers to take preventative action, the Government will offer free bluetongue tests to keepers in the high-risk south-east and eastern counties, from Norfolk down to East Sussex, who are planning to move animals out of these counties. This testing will be available as soon as the risk increases but before the first detection of disease. Keepers will be able to check on the APHA bluetongue interactive map if they are in an eligible area. We are introducing the scheme to give animal keepers the tools to manage the risk of disease spread outside of the higher-risk counties during the period before disease is confirmed.

All testing will be carried out at the UK’s bluetongue virus national reference laboratory at the Pirbright Institute, supported by our official laboratory network, where needed, to ensure sufficient capacity, and this scheme will go live when the risk level changes—this is likely to be in the coming weeks when temperature increases, wind patterns from the continent and prevalence of disease there coalesce to make incursion and spread likely.

We recognise how important it is that farming businesses across the country have access to the best possible advice to help them understand the disease, prepare and access the support that we are putting in place. That is why we have had and will continue our programme of engagement with industry, to ensure that they have all the information that they need and we understand the key issues they are facing. This is alongside our ongoing preparedness work, regular meetings with key stakeholders and webinars for vets and show organisers. We will continue to strengthen and expand our guidance to farmers, livestock keepers, show organisers, importers, exporters and associated industries—available via www.gov.uk/bluetongue —as the situation develops.

Finally, vigilance for bluetongue clinical signs in susceptible animals is key. We encourage keepers to monitor animals frequently, getting in touch with APHA immediately if they have any suspicions of this notifiable disease.

[HCWS500]