Over 124 thousand infected heads (the dead ones far exceed 17 thousand) and more than three thousand outbreaks recorded (3,028, to be precise) : these are the numbers of the bluetongue epidemic in Sardinia that emerge from the latest bulletin of the Zooprophylactic Institute updated to today, October 7. While waiting for the cold weather, hoped for by the Health Councilor Armando Bartolazzi ( «Temperatures need to drop below 15 degrees», he recently said in the Regional Council ) , the countryside is dealing with the spread of the virus in various serotypes, which have distributed themselves differently across the regional territory.
The majority of outbreaks – 1213 – come from serotype 3, the one for which there is no vaccine on the market, with over 43 thousand infected sheep. Fewer flocks affected by serotype 8 (793 outbreaks) but a greater number of heads affected: 43,470.
The first has a greater diffusion in the south of the island. The second has hit the northern regions more: here, in the province of Sassari, there are 729 active outbreaks. The graphic representation of the distribution of the virus shows a Sardinia hit by a nasty "dot" disease, spread almost everywhere.
In this context, a cryptic post by the Agriculture Councilor, Gian Franco Satta, fits in: "It's simple to influence emotions and foment fear and anger in order to gain support for their goals," he wrote on social media, "suggesting solutions and logical reasoning: no." It is not clear who the recipient is. It could be the owner of the agricultural study center, Tore Piana, who launched the initiative aimed at shepherds: he proposes to send an email to the department with the request for advance payments of CAP and CSR, in light of the increases due to wars and the crisis caused by Blue Tongue. But among the recipients there could also be the regional councilor Piero Maieli (now in Forza Italia) who attacked him on the management of the epidemic.
Among those who responded to the councilor, also Nenneddu Sanna, of the shepherds without a flag: «In these years I have only seen a succession of right-wing and left-wing administrations: when the right governs, the left barks and when the left governs, the right barks, with the usual refrain " if I had been there, things would have been different"», writes Sanna. Who adds: «Some councilor, if ever he had had the foresight, or rather, the cunning to listen to those who work in the countryside every day, was immediately torpedoed for your usual political games. So now you have the bicycle and you can decide whether to pedal, or get off and do what all your colleagues have done: bow your head, participate in senseless fairs and debates while the people of the countryside get by as they have always done».
Enrico Fresu