Sheep health expert Fiona Lovatt urges livestock farmers to share bluetongue BTV-3 virus experiences
A leading sheep health expert has urged farmers to help share their experiences of the bluetongue outbreak, even if they have not been directly impacted.
Clinical Associate Professor in sheep production medicine at the University of Nottingham Fiona Lovatt said the results of a nationwide survey into the BTV-3 virus would be fed back to top decision-makers, with the aim of improving support for affected farmers and better prepard for similar situations in the future.
The sheep health consultant, who previously worked as a vet serving 500 farms in the Barnard Castle area and was recently awarded a National Sheep Association award for outstanding contribution to the industry, is conducting the survey with the university and the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board.
She said the survey, which followed talks with Defra officials and has the backing of key industry organisations, would provide a clearer picture of what is happening on UK farms.
Dr Lovatt said: "We don’t know how bad it is in the UK now and that’s the reason for getting this survey out. To let farmers know who are affected that we care and want to know how bad it is, but then to gjve us the data so we can make rational decisions."
She said her veterinary contacts in the Netherlands, Belgium and France had spoken of the “horrific time” farmers and others were having in those countries due to bluetongue over the past year.
Dr Lovatt said: “The last thing we want is for that to be happening in the UK.”
While it is believed a proportion of farmers in the UK are suspicious of bluetongue vaccines, Dr Lovatt said on the Continent farmers were “desperate to vaccinate”.
She said: “The more people vaccinate the better it will be more next year.
”None of us want to be in a position a few months down the line when we could have done.”
In the UK, bluetongue is a notifiable disease, so anyone suspecting the disease must take action and report it to the Animal and Plant Health Agency.
Dr Lovatt said as a vet during the foot-and-mouth crisis she was aware of the strain farmers were under, and sought to reassure anyone who filled in the fully anonymous survey that there was no way their responses could be traced back.
She said: “No one has anything to lose by letting us know what the situation is. It may be there are people who don’t have any cases but are impacted due to licences or restrictions can let us know through the survey.
“We need to find out what level of clinical signs farmers are seeing in their animals, whether they are experiencing mortality with BTV-3 cases, and what their appetite is to vaccinate in future for bluetongue serotype 3.”
The short online survey aims to gather data on the number of animals affected, the severity of clinical signs, and the wider impacts on farm businesses.
Farmers are urged to take part in the survey, which can be accessed at https://bit.ly/BTV3survey.