The vaccine for Bluetongue serotype 3 is also available in Italy.
The news emerges from a note from the Director General of Animal Health of the Ministry of Health Giovanni Filippini, published on the ministry's website and sent to the veterinary services of the Regions most affected by bluetongue, Sardinia for the Btv3 and Btv8 serotypes and Piedmont, Liguria, Lombardy, Emilia Romagna and Calabria for Btv8 only.
Recommending "clinical investigations on a sample of sheep farms present within a 20 km radius of the confirmed case", and recalling the rules for the movement of animals, the document informs that "for both serotype 3 and serotype 8 of the Bt virus, inactivated vaccines are available on the market", advising to contact the manufacturing companies "to check the available stocks and consider the possibility of developing a vaccination plan".
"The Sardinia Region immediately took action - says the regional health councilor Armando Bartolazzi - and we are moving to do everything possible to obtain the serotype 3 vaccine that the ministry is talking about. I have already given a mandate to the competent offices to find it on the market".
According to the latest data from the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Sardinia, there are currently 2137 outbreaks of bluetongue, most of which are related to the circulation of serotype 3.
(Online Union)