Ceva Animal Health has announced that its new bluetongue vaccine 'BLUEVAC-3' will be available to British farmers from mid-October.
The introduction of the vaccine follows the animal health firm being granted a permit from Defra allowing the use of BLUEVAC-3 in the UK.
Licences to allow use will either be geographically targeted general licences, initially in high risk counties as part of a phased approach, or specific licences.
BLUEVAC-3 is an inactivated injectable vaccine for immunisation against bluetongue virus serotype-3, known as BTV-3, for use in sheep and cattle.
It reduces the presence of viruses in the blood, prevents mortality and reduces the clinical signs of BTV-3 in sheep and in cattle.
In sheep, it can be administered from two months of age and two doses of 2ml should be administered three weeks apart, Ceva says.
And in cattle, the vaccine can be taken from two months of age and two doses of 4ml should be administered three weeks apart.
The firm explains that onset of immunity occurs 21 days/three weeks after completion of primary vaccination in cattle and sheep.
It goes on to confirm that the vaccine can be used in pregnancy in cows and ewes, and there is no negative impact on milk yield after using it.
BTV-3 is a viral infection spread by midges and it affects cattle and small ruminants including sheep.
Outbreaks of BTV-3 last year in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany caused severe losses for farmers.
The newly emerged serotype 3 strand that is currently spreading in England was reported to impact sheep farms with a weekly mortality rate close to 2.5%.
In cattle, the recent BTV-3 outbreak has led to reproductive disorders and significant milk losses in affected dairy farms.
In addition to the impact on the animals, the virus can cause severe economic losses for farmers.
A total of seven counties across England - East Yorkshire, East Sussex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Lincolnshire and Kent - have recorded BTV-3 cases as of 18 September.
