The UK has witnessed a resurgence in bluetongue as 41 cases have been confirmed in just eight days.

A case of bluetongue-3 was detected on a sheep farm in Norfolk on 26 August and a further 12 premises have gone down with the virus since.

Prior to the last week of August, there had been no cases confirmed in the UK since March 2024 after the country exited its 2023/2024 vector season with a total of 126 bluetongue cases confirmed on 73 farms.

The virus is transmitted by the Culicoides midge, which is more active in the UK during the months of May to October when temperatures are mild.

The UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has extended the restricted zone and infected area to now cover Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex. In addition to the counties restricted, Kent and East Sussex have been flagged by UK authorities as being “high-risk” areas.

Movement restrictions apply to all ruminant livestock moving outside of the zone and to germinal products, such as semen and embryos, moving within it.

The bluetongue situation in the Netherlands also continues to worsen as the number of cases confirmed by laboratory analysis climbed to 4,617 between January and 29 August 2024.

Case numbers there have jumped 67% in the fortnight up to this latest reporting of the Netherlands bluetongue-3 figures.

The Department of Agriculture has said that, currently, no susceptible animals may move from Britain to Ireland.

Should live exports from Britain to Ireland recommence, the UK authorities would need to access an EU-approved bluetongue-3 vaccine and/or establish EU-recognised bluetongue disease-free zones in Britain.

“In the absence of either of these, restrictions in Great Britain will remain in place for at least another 24 months,” a spokesperson for the Department told the Irish Farmers Journal.