Blue Tongue

Leaves me wondering what the hell is coming next
frown.gif
frown.gif
frown.gif
And there's bound to be more slaughtering.............
frown.gif
frown.gif
 
It's scarry what ever next. up to 70% of stock can be lost because of this. it only affects sheep cattle and goats NOT horses. swelling of head throat very painful OMG farmers must be devistated.
 
I have just looked up bluetongue and it says that the same midges that carry the virus can also carrys the african horse sickness virus which kills upto 90% on amimals infected, so it could be very serious.
 
there have been a few outbreaks here in the last couple of years although I dont think there has been obligatory slaughter -yet. I think it a wee bit strange-FandM then FandM take two, now Blue Tongue! Any bets on an outbreak of Rinderpest and a dash of Anthrax thrown in for good measure! M.
frown.gif
 
The scary thing for us equine owners about BT coming over here is that the midges that carry BT are also the ones that carry AHS - having been thoroughly involved in the AHS outbreak in Southern Spain in the 80s, I am concerned
frown.gif
 
agreed

the defra talk is of keeping animals indoors and spraying vigorousily with insecticide/repellent

the EU is working on a bluetongue vaccine that should be available dec 2007 or early 2008 ready for the spring/summer

the only glimmer of light is that the hot weather will end soon and that will remove the midges until the spring.

it is worrying though - how did it jump from europe to Ipswich - Kent perhaps but Ipswich ?? That's a long way for a midge to fly.
 
I am hoping, hoping beyond hope, that the animal was recently imported and was already infected - then hoping beyond hope that it wasn't bitten by any midges! But I agree, I have been pondering the fact of where the case was all day - and I am stumped.
 
[ QUOTE ]
The scary thing for us equine owners about BT coming over here is that the midges that carry BT are also the ones that carry AHS - having been thoroughly involved in the AHS outbreak in Southern Spain in the 80s, I am concerned
frown.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

AHS = African Horse Sickness????
 
Isn't it a different "bug" though, even though it's the same midges that carry it? There's no African Horse Sickness in Europe at the moment is there? If this Blue Tongue virus is the same as AHS then surely Defra would be listing it as a threat and there would have been cases in the Blue Tongue hit countries?

What I'm saying here is....a horse bitten by a midge carrying Blue Tongue will not develop African Horse Sickness as a result will they? The two viruses have similar symptoms but are not the same thing with a different name.
 
Absolutely right Patches, but from what I am led to understand, the midge that carries BT and AHS has never been native to the UK - thats where the prob lies
frown.gif
No, there is no AHS active ATM in Europe, but horses come and go!
 
The midge could've come from anywhere. Might even have been in someone's car when they drove through the channel tunnel for example.

I do hope it turns out to be pretty isolated. Sounds dreadful for the animals, particularly sheep.
 
The cow was a Highland Cow - so unlikely to be an import - on a rare breeds farm.

In europe there is no culling of the bluetongue affected animals as they can recover from the disease - it is sheep that are about a 50% mortality with bluetongue - unlike fmd where they generally show few signs or symptoms.

There have been about 8000 incidents of bluetongue in europe this summer already and they try and save the animals concerned by treating them, even the sheep, and that is from a Belgian EU vet on the Sky news last night.
 
You do understand WHY they cull though don't you?

Infected midge bites cow, cow infected. A "clean" midge bites infected cow (or several midges a day bite infected cow) and you now have a small army of infected midges to continuing spreading the virus.

The mortality rate in sheep is listed on most sites and in the media at over 70%. Cows, I will concur, are largely asymptomatic compared to sheep. The risk is still great for transmission of the disease from biting insects to surrounding stock both locally and further afield.
 
Was listening to Radio 4 this morning and apparently it must be warmer than 12 degrees for the virus to develop inside the midge into the state that causes the disease. So, never thought I'd say it, lets all start praying for a real cold winter.

Re: AHS, I come from Johannesburg and we vaccinated against AHS once a year. Was a bit of a pain because the vaccine must be administered over three weeks and for the middle week you are not allowed to ride at all and for the 1st and 3rd week you were not to get your horse sweaty (something about strain on the heart muscle). Now this was going back a good 10 / 15 years so maybe things have moved on, but I don't remember it being too onerous. You don't want your horse to get AHS though - it is nasty nasty.
 
Suzy I would refute what they say...

*African Horse Sickness is a variant of the Bluetongue virus of sheep which is principally carried and transmitted to horses by Culicoides species midges. *

I am pretty positive that AHS is NOT a variant,the only thing that links them is that it is the same kind of midge that carries both diseases.
 
My OH's family has a farm in South Africa and they get Blutounge there. What they do is cull a cow that has it, get is stomach contents, dilute it and drench the other cows with it so that build up immunity against it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top