Rosselkhoznadzor comments on large-scale bluetongue outbreak in EU countries

In early September this year, the Dutch Food Safety Authority reported clinical signs characteristic of bluetongue in sheep. Laboratory diagnosis confirmed BTV infection and within a few days the first reports of clinical signs in cattle were received. The virus was identified as BTV-3 serotype (BTV-3) using whole genome sequencing .

Hundreds of Dutch livestock farms are currently infected or at risk of becoming infected, and the extent of the disease can be seen on an interactive map on the Wageningen University website. 

Belgium and  Germany  have also confirmed outbreaks of bluetongue in small ruminants, with laboratory tests showing the pathogen is similar to the virus that has spread in the Netherlands.

BTV-3 has previously been recorded in Sicily, Israel, and Central and South African countries. The carriers arebloodsucking insects . The most likely factor for the introduction of the pathogen is anthropogenic, and in no case can the migration activity of refugees be ruled out.  

According to open sources, there is no vaccine approved for use in the EU against BTV-3, and it is not yet known whether other bluetongue vaccines (BTV-8, 1 or 4) can provide cross-protection.

Live attenuated vaccines, which are weakened forms of the virus, are currently used in South Africa, where BTV-3 is endemic. However, they are not approved in the European Union due to concerns that the virus in the vaccine could regain its virulence or interact with circulating field variants to enhance it.

Therefore, given the speed of infection spread, warm European winters and the ability of blood-sucking insects to overwinter in livestock buildings, it is necessary to quickly develop an effective vaccine.

At the same time, the question arises: why are the above-mentioned countries still listed as prosperous on the current map posted on the European Commission website.