Bluetongue Update No. 1 of 2025

• Bluetongue Update 1 of 2025 (pdf 545Kb) 

Please find above Bluetongue Update No. 1 of 2025 which includes updates on the bluetongue disease situation in Ireland, Great Britain and Europe.

• Warmer temperatures increase the risk of bluetongue introduction in Ireland from infected areas across the Irish sea:  higher temperatures lead to replication of the virus in the active midges, and winds can disperse these infected midges from France, England or Wales to Ireland.

• The risk of introducing infection via imported livestock, semen or embryos remains, despite the controls put in place.

• It is critical that all livestock farmers maintain vigilance for any suspicions of this disease, and report any such suspicions to their local Regional Veterinary Office (RVO) without delay to stop any onward spread.

• From 1^st July 2025 the whole of England will be declared bluetongue restricted zone. Imports of live ruminants from GB continue to be suspended.

• Newly approved vaccines for BTV – 3 serotype cannot meet intra-EU certification requirements because the duration of immunity has not been established yet and they help reduce the levels of infection and the severity of clinical signs but may not prevent animals from becoming infected or ill.

Further information on bluetongue is available online on the DAFM website: Bluetongue Virus

Species: Bovine, Ovine