The Scottish Government

BLUETONGUE STAKEHOLDER MEETING

Victoria Quay, 14:00 23rd June 2008

NOTE OF MEETING

Present

* via teleconference

Introduction and vaccine procurement update

1. Neil Ritchie ( NR) welcomed everybody and thanked them for travelling to Victoria Quay. He informed the meeting that a number of tenders had been received following the vaccine procurement exercise, and that the awarding of the contract was imminent. He expressed confidence that sufficient doses for the compulsory campaign will be obtained, along with a contingency supply for earlier use should developments in the disease situation require this.

2. NR informed the group that the Scottish Government had been holding a number of meetings on vaccination with individual industry sectors since the last stakeholder meeting, notably with vets and wholesalers and with the auctioneers. He explained that the purpose of today's meeting was to discuss outstanding aspects relevant to the proposed Scottish vaccination programme. This would be undertaken in light of a presentation summarising the results of the EPIC research project investigating potential incursion scenarios and control options.

Disease update

3. CVO Scotland gave a brief update on the current situation:

• A total of 136 Infected Premises have been identified in England, all a result of disease last year. No new disease has been detected yet this year in GB or officially confirmed in the rest of Europe.
• Imports from infected areas of Europe continue despite advice against from both Government and industry. To date there have been 5,589 animals imported to England, 817 to Scotland and 317 to Wales. Of these, post-movement testing has identified 54 PCR-positive animals in England, one in Wales, and three in Scotland (one bovine and two deer).
• Throughout June, Animal Health have been investigating about 20 report cases a week in GB, five of which have been in Scotland. All Scottish report cases have been negated.
• No notifications of movement of vaccinated animals to Scotland from England have yet been received.
• Expectation is that disease will emerge any time now, in the same areas as affected last year. Animal keepers in Scotland must not be complacent, and it is essential that any suspicion of bluetongue is reported to Animal Health.
• Defra are carrying out ongoing surveillance on farms affected last year, looking at recovered animals and progeny.

Presentation on outcomes of economic scenarios research project

4. George Gunn ( SAC) presented a summary of the results from the EPIC team's research project modelling the epidemiological and economic effects of a number of disease incursion scenarios. Copies of the slides will be circulated when available.

5. The five scenarios of disease introduction deemed most likely to occur (three by midge movements at different times of year, and two by animal movements at different times) were examined against five potential control scenarios. Data on cattle, sheep and midge densities across Scotland, meteorological data and information on animal movements were incorporated. Economic analysis was based on cost-benefit analysis, where the cost was defined as the expense of keeping bluetongue out of Scotland (estimated as £140m over five years) and the benefit was defined as the costs/losses avoided by not getting bluetongue in Scotland (including vaccination costs).

6. Highlights of the results include:

• Maps of the predicted risk of disease spread clearly demonstrated the benefit of vaccinating the whole of Scotland (including the islands), even at the low level of 50% uptake, over no vaccination; the risk of disease spread was significantly reduced.
• Cost-benefit analysis showed that preventing bluetongue ( BTV) from establishing in Scotland is well-justified as disease losses avoided (benefits) greatly exceeded the assumed costs of keeping BTV out. Many of these disease losses are currently under-estimated due to lack of information and it is likely that if more information on, for example, reproductive losses was made available, this would probably justify prevention even further.
• From the scenarios investigated to date, economic analysis suggests that the most cost-effective control options are generally either not vaccinate, or to vaccinate the whole of Scotland at 50% uptake. The exception to this is in relation to animal movements to northern Scotland, where a 100km Protection Zone ( PZ) around the IP is the most cost-effective strategy.
• Estimated financial losses were found to be larger for the cattle sector than the sheep sectors, despite the disease generally affecting sheep more severely than cattle.

7. Key messages to take away from the work include:

• Least disease does not always mean least cost.
• Indirect costs are the largest, and also the most uncertain.
• Vaccination may not always be the best option from an economic point of view, but given the uncertainty of economic impacts and the clear advantage in terms of disease control, it remains a key tool.
• If disease establishes, the bigger the PZ in place the better, to ease continuation of trade.
• Cattle producers potentially face some of the biggest losses.

8. The research has been extended to model the impact of an 80% level of vaccination over the whole of Scotland. The effect of including or excluding the Northern Islands from the PZ has not been looked at.

Implementing a compulsory vaccine campaign in the next VFP.

9. An open discussion was held which covered the following topics.

Which animals are compulsory

10. CVO Scotland proposed that the campaign be compulsory for cattle and sheep, and available on a voluntary basis for other susceptible species such as goats, camels, alpacas, buffalo, etc. (To make vaccination compulsory for these animals would require notification to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate ( VMD) and the EC, as the vaccines are not licensed for use in these species.) There is estimated to be about 11,500 such animals in Scotland. Vaccine subsidised by the Scottish Government will be available for all species at the same price.

11. Representatives of keepers of species other than sheep and cattle said keepers are keen to vaccinate. Publicity through the normal agricultural press may not reach many of them, and efforts should be made to reach them with focussed publicity to explain the risks of disease and encourage vaccination.

12. It was noted that the British Alpaca Society are funding a study looking at safety and efficacy of the BTV vaccine in alpacas.

Action: SG to engage with British Alpaca Society ( BAS) and Scottish Goatkeepers Federation to develop appropriate publicity material. Others wishing to be involved please contact Nia Ball (nia.ball@scotland.gsi.gov.uk)

Action: BAS to inform group of alpaca vaccination study findings when complete.

Which areas are compulsory

13. The CVO Scotland noted that disease control requirements, economic implications and livestock management implications should be considered when deciding on the vaccination zone. He proposed that, based on the outcomes of the EPIC work, the whole of Scotland is included within the PZ when it is put in place during the vector-free period ( VFP) this winter, and he invited debate. He clarified that SG expect to have sufficient vaccine to vaccinate across the whole country. He also clarified that if low levels of disease only are seen in GB this summer, there may be no need for vaccination in Scotland at all this year, but decisions must be taken in time to allow people to plan accordingly.

14. There was significant support for an all-of-Scotland approach when the time comes. The NFUS informed the meeting that their members on Orkney and Shetland did not want to commit to vaccinating now, but wanted flexibility to decide later (probably by August) when the disease developments over the summer are known.

15. A decision was taken to draft the vaccination plan on the basis of including the islands in the PZ to allow planning at this stage. The decision whether to include them or to keep them as free areas will be taken at a later date.

Action: Industry to consult with livestock keepers on islands and provide feedback.

Timing & VFP (including impact of timing of PZ in North of England)

16. CVO Scotland informed the Group that the VFP in Scotland would be declared on the basis of temperature and midge trapping data, and may begin earlier than in the rest of GB due to Scotland's lower temperatures. In 2007 the VFP started on 15th December. This year it may be earlier or later depending on temperatures.

17. Timing of vaccination was discussed. The question was posed that, if England expand their PZ north to the border, do we take the decision to either commence vaccination regardless of the disease situation, or, if there are only low levels of disease in England and no evidence of northward spread, would we decide not to vaccinate?

18. It was agreed that there was no point in declaring a PZ earlier than necessary from a disease control perspective, due to the movement restrictions and vaccine costs incurred. The vaccine and delivery arrangements being put in place should be thought of as an insurance policy, the potential use of which will be decided on the basis of the disease pattern in the rest of the UK this summer.

19. For discussion on movements of cattle from northern English counties to Scotland over the summer/autumn period, see 'Animal movement issues' below.

What happens if we get an early incursion

20. The CVO Scotland said that vaccination in a 20-100 km PZ around an incursion would be likely, with an intention of maintaining the rest of the country as a free area until the VFP. Some stakeholders expressed a preference for the whole of Scotland to be declared a PZ in such an instance. It was explained that once a PZ is declared it must stay in place for two years, so long-term implications should be considered carefully before implementing a PZ too widely too quickly.

21. In the event of an early incursion, the minimum zones would be imposed initially, and then discussions would be held with stakeholders to decide whether those zones should be extended to help minimise economic disruption.

Vaccine delivery issues (including handling & storage)

22. A meeting was held with private vets and wholesalers at the end of May to discuss these issues, and the minutes are attached. Wholesalers are confident that orders can be turned around quickly and there are no problems anticipated with remote areas. The main outcomes from the meeting were a draft order form to be completed by the farmer and vet when vaccine is ordered (which will form an audit trail), and the need to emphasize importance of maintenance of the 'cold chain' once vaccine is purchased.

23. There is a need to get information out to producers on the practical issues, particularly regarding vaccine storage. SAC is currently producing a vaccination information pack for use by vets.

24. The intention is that each producer should only order vaccine from a single vet practice. This should avoid duplicate orders and discourage panic buying.

25. Available information suggests that the vaccine is compatible with most other medicines, though the advice is not to give bluetongue vaccine at the same time as other vaccines as this may reduce effectiveness. The vaccine used for boosters does not have to be from the same company as the original dose. There is no evidence of vaccine causing problems in pregnant animals.

26. A plea was made that the vaccine should be delivered in plastic bottles rather than glass as they are harder to break, and that differential pricing for different sized bottles should be avoided or at least minimised.

27. A request was made by the BVA that Scottish Government provide a pricing guide to vets.

Action: All to pass comments on the attached draft vaccine purchase form to Nia Ball ( SG).

Action: SG to provide pricing guide to vets.

Animal movement issues

28. A meeting as held with IAAS at the beginning of June to discuss these issues, and the minutes are attached.

29. It was noted that significant numbers of animals travel north from England to slaughterhouses in Scotland. Animals from the PZ and SZ in England are currently prevented from entering Scotland to be slaughtered, a decision taken based on a Veterinary Risk Assessment ( VRA). QMS produced figures (attached) which demonstrate that numbers of animals moved from England to slaughter in Scotland in the first quarter of this year were down by 29%. Despite this decrease in numbers, SAMW are reported to be supportive of this approach to prevent disease being introduced to Scotland through animal movements. Their cooperative approach despite the difficulties was acknowledged.

30. Fears were expressed on the impact of a PZ in northern England on cross-border trade, if no PZ was declared in Scotland at the same time and a call was made for a risk analysis. CVO Scotland explained that there were already veterinary risk analyses in place and that these were regularly updated.

31. A particular concern was that English farmers would not continue to buy store lambs from Scotland. CVO Scotland has received reassurance from CVOUK that there will be enough vaccine available in England for farmers to vaccinate stock bought later in the year.

32. Another concern was that unvaccinated Scottish livestock would get a lower price than vaccinated English livestock. It was also explained that there is no precedent that suggests prices of uninfected animals from free areas would be lower than animals from areas with disease. Frank Stephens said his advice to farmers sourcing stock is to buy from free areas only and vaccinate the animals yourself, as then you know it has been done properly.

33. NR said SG could work with the industry to help develop clear communications material and promote sales. Animals sourced from a disease-free Scotland should be seen as a benefit, and promoted as such. IAAS are already circulating information.

34. It was noted that the timing of the extension of the PZ to the counties in the north of England could have a large effect on the period of summer/autumn movements of cattle from the north of England to Scotland. The two best options are either to ensure the PZ is extended to northern England as soon as possible, to allow people to vaccinate their animals in time for the 60 day standstill period to elapse before the moves, or to delay the extension of the PZ until after this trading season. It was agreed that from the Scottish perspective it would be preferable if these counties continue to remain free until after the period of movements has taken place. IAAS is discussing this matter with their English colleagues who are likely to press this issue with Defra.

Action: NBA and IAAS to send advice leaflets on sourcing stock already developed to Nia Ball ( SG).

Movements of vaccinated animals through markets

35. IAAS reported that markets in England were not currently seeing a price differential between vaccinated and unvaccinated stock. Certification of vaccinated animals was discussed. The provision of marts with a centrally-produced list of farmers who had vaccinated their stock was considered unworkable.

36. The meeting considered what assurances buyers would want that stock they bought had been vaccinated. A simple system that applies to both markets and private traders is required. Industry decided that a farmer declaration of vaccination, similar to a self-declaration for BVD, should accompany vaccinated animals being sold and a copy be given to the buyer. Records of vaccination should be entered into medicine books, and recorded on cattle passports. If animals sold as vaccinated were found not to have been, COSLA confirmed that liability would rest with the seller and the usual liabilities for the auctioneers would apply. Vaccination status could be indicated at markets by marking animals.

Action: NFUS & IAAS to design a draft declaration form on behalf of buyers, COSLA to check over from a legal point of view.

Action: IAAS to consider use of marks on unvaccinated animals at markets.

Exempt animals

37. Animals will be exempt from compulsory vaccination if either they are slaughtered before the end of the VFP, or if they are slaughtered before they would become immune (i.e. 60 days after vaccination for cattle, and 21 days for sheep).

38. People who keep just one animal will not be exempt. Discussions are to be held on possible exemptions for AI stud bulls (as vaccinating these would have implications for international trade in semen).

39. Consideration is also required regarding the vaccination of young stock. Animals cannot be vaccinated until one month old, when they should be given a window of time by when they must be vaccinated.

40. CVO Scotland advised that the best time of year for boosters to be given would always be the vector-free period, regardless of when the last dose was given.

Action: SG to hold bilateral meeting to discuss vaccination & AI stud bulls.

Action: SG to consider regulations on vaccination of young stock.

Auditing and enforcement

41. CVO Scotland informed the meeting that the audit trail will provide data on numbers and species of animals that vaccine has been supplied for and levels of uptake of vaccine. Data collected from vets on a weekly basis will be cross-checked against a central database and CPH numbers compared. This will allow follow-up of people who haven't ordered by the end of the VFP. Blood-sampling of a random sample of animals will be undertaken to ensure vaccination has been carried out and the animals are immune, and arrangements are being made for this with Animal Health.

42. Local Authorities are responsible for enforcement, and will work closely with Animal Health.

Any other business

43. NR noted that the importance of clear, accessible and credible information for animal keepers had been a recurring theme throughout the discussion.

Action: All to contact Nia Ball ( SG) if interested in contributing to publicity material.

44. The issue of booster vaccination and vaccination of stock born in Spring 2009 was raised. It is hoped that vaccine will be available on the normal commercial market by then. The SG will monitor progress on this, and look at what needs to be done if vaccine won't be available.

45. A contribution to future costs by the Cabinet Secretary was requested, and it was agreed that NFUS would lead discussions on the wider possibilities for animal health funding via routes such as article 69 or modulation over the coming months.

46. NFUS offered their boardroom at Ingliston for future meetings if rooms are not available at Pentland House.

Rural Directorate - AH&W

Scottish Government

30th June 2008