Louise Cullen,Agriculture and environment correspondentand
Catherine Doyle,BBC News NI
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Anyone who suspects that their animals may have bluetongue must report it to a vet, local divisional veterinary office or to Daera
More suspected cases of bluetongue virus (BTV) have been detected in Northern Ireland.
Further tests have identified 44 suspect cases in the same County Down herd where the first outbreak on the island of Ireland was discovered at the weekend.
Two cows from the Clandeboye Estate tested positive during routine sampling at an abattoir in November. Those preliminary results have also now been confirmed.
Spread by midges, bluetongue poses no threat to the public or food safety but can affect cloven-hoofed animals like sheep and cattle.
Samples will be sent to national and EU reference laboratories for confirmation.
Daera minister Andrew Muir said the preliminary results were “undoubtedly a blow” for owners and staff at Clandeboye Estate, which he added “operates to the highest biosecurity standards”.
“It is also hugely disappointing for the agri-food sector which up until now has enjoyed Bluetongue-free status in Northern Ireland.”
He said his counterpart in the Irish government, Martin Heydon, had been briefed on the development and that there was “constant contact” with administrations across these islands.
“Preliminary results from those tests have unfortunately revealed the presence of bluetongue in 44 out of the 236 cattle on the affected farm,” Muir said.
He added that midges capable of spread have been found in the “locality”.
A 20km temporary control zone was put in place on Saturday.
Muir said “significant work” was ongoing within the zone “to ascertain if there’s been any further infection in livestock outside the holding where this infection was detected”.
“There will be extreme level of anxiety within the farming community in Northern Ireland.”
Clandeboye Estate said none of the animals were displaying symptoms.
They said they were planning to “undertake a period of monitoring and retesting”.
“At this stage no further intervention is planned in the Clandeboye herd,” a spokesperson added.
‘Quite alarming’
Dr David Kyle, (L) from Daera, and Andrew Muir (R) addressed the media on Wednesday afternoon
Dr David Kyle, deputy chief veterinary officer at Daera, said there had not been a significant uptake of the vaccine in Northern Ireland.
He added: “The numbers of animals that have been infected in this farm have been quite alarming.”
“It will really depend on the outcomes of further surveillance to see where the potential disease has spread to,” he said.
He added that it was not possible to “keep midges out of Northern Ireland,” but the trapping and surveillance “will demonstrate where the midges have potentially been”.
Daera
A 20km temporary control zone is in place after the disease was identified in two cows at a holding near Bangor, County Down
Biting midges are most active from April to November and the potential for spread depends on climatic conditions and wind patterns with lower temperatures significantly reducing the risk, the department said.
The Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) are currently monitoring midge numbers using traps set in seven locations spread out across Northern Ireland.
Saintfield Livestock Market in Ballynahinch, County Down, is closed because it is in the control zone
In July, it emerged that farmers in Northern Ireland would be able to vaccinate their livestock against the virus, bringing them in line with the rest of the UK.
In the Northern Ireland Assembly on Monday, Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir said samples taken from cows suspected to have the disease needed to go through “confirmatory testing” in laboratories in Germany and England.
What is bluetongue virus?
Spread by midges, bluetongue poses no threat to the public or food safety
Bluetongue virus affects cattle, goats, sheep, deer and camelids such as llamas and alpacas.
It can cause ulcers or sores around the animal’s mouth and face, difficulties swallowing and breathing, fever and lameness, foetal deformities and stillbirths.
It is a notifiable disease so anyone suspecting their animals may have it must report it to a vet, local divisional veterinary office or to Daera directly.
The latest outbreak began in the Netherlands in 2023, where tens of thousands of sheep died, and midges blown over from the continent began infecting livestock in the south-east of England too.
But the impact of BTV-3 seems to vary considerably across different regions, with some animals showing little sign of infection and managing to recover.
