Bluetongue Virus Update No.2 of 2025

• Bluetongue Virus Update No.2 of 2025 (pdf 451Kb) 
• Bluetongue Leaflet 2025 (pdf 5,436Kb) 

Please find above bluetongue virus information and updates on the current bluetongue disease situation.

• The first cases of BTV-3 in Great Britain during this year’s vector season (2025-2026) were reported on 11^th and 12^th  July 2025, in Herefordshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.
• In Great Britain, the bluetongue Restricted Zone has been extended to cover all of England since 1^st  July 2025. Movements within England are now permitted without a movement license or pre-movement testing.
• Warmer temperatures increase the risk of bluetongue virus  introduction into Ireland from infected areas across the Irish sea. 

• Higher temperatures lead to replication of bluetongue virus within the active midge populations.
• Winds could potentially disperse infected midges from Great Britain or Europe to Ireland.

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

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

Species: Bovine, Ovine