Weighing up the merits of bluetongue vaccination
Irish farmers are being encouraged to vaccinate livestock against the bluetongue virus as the risk of spread increases with rising temperatures. While vaccination is the primary defense, uptake remains variable and costs vary significantly between providers.
Why it matters
Effective disease management is critical for the economic stability of the agricultural sector and the health of the national sheep population.
The incidence of the bluetongue virus has thankfully been low to date. There have been lots of warnings in recent months regarding the increased risk of the virus spreading in higher temperatures.
As Dr Ruth Sanders from the Department of Agriculture outlined at the recent Teagasc sheep conference predicting what the prevalence of the virus and severity of disease will be like in 2026 is impossible.
It could be a case that Ireland will experience similar disease levels and clinical symptoms as England and Wales where fertility issues have been the dominant problem.
There are other veterinary specialists that warn that if there were a high virus load in the environment in current temperatures then we would likely see the virus replicate and spread much faster.
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