Farmers in Scotland have been asked to be watchful for signs of bluetongue virus after the disease was identified in a number of cattle imported from France.
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) successfully picked up the infected animals through the post-import testing regime.
The agency is working with the livestock keepers affected to ensure swift action is taken to prevent spread of the disease, with movement restrictions at affected premises, surveillance and humane culling of animals where necessary.
Chief Veterinary Officer for Scotland, Sheila Voas, said: "Bluetongue does not pose a threat to human health or food safety, but can have a severe impact on affected farms.
"A total of 10 animals were imported from the same assembly centre in France - an area where multiple cases of bluetongue have been confirmed in recent times - and we are working closely with affected farms and stakeholders to contain the virus.
"While I am pleased with our robust disease surveillance procedures have worked, the identification offers a timely reminder to farmers for the need to remain vigilant and of the risks of importing animals from disease-affected areas into their herds."
Bluetongue is spread by insects and affects animals such as cattle, goats, deer and sheep. It does not affect humans.
The last outbreak of the virus in Great Britain occurred in the South of England in 2007.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel