The Scottish Government

SOURCES OF BLUETONGUE DISEASE RISK TO SCOTLAND

Bluetongue virus is a risk to the Scottish livestock population and expert advice is that the main potential sources of a disease incursion are:

• import of infected susceptible animals from continental Europe;
• import of infected susceptible animals from England/Wales;
• spread of infected midges north from England and Wales if infection became established there.

These are in order of likely risk. Given the risk to be associated with the import of potentially infected animals, all UK Governments are routinely testing bluetongue susceptible animals imported from continental Europe for the presence of all bluetongue serotypes.

The following tables set out the number of susceptible animals imported directly to Scotland from Europe (excluding Ireland and the Republic of Ireland) since 2006.

AUGUST 2006 BLUETONGUE POST IMPORT TEST

2007 BLUETONGUE POST IMPORT TEST

2008 BLUETONGUE POST IMPORT TEST*

*Provisional results

Of these legal imports 3 animals have been found to be carrying bluetongue serotype 8 virus. These animals were subsequently culled to reduce the risk of disease becoming established in Scotland. Whilst these moves were legal under EU law these incidents highlight the risk of disease being imported to Scotland. Livestock keepers are reminded of the importance of sourcing stock responsibly and avoiding high risk areas.

2009 BLUETONGUE POST IMPORT TEST