"Given the resurgence of the Blue Tongue epidemic that is affecting much of the territory of Sardinia, we ask for an urgent meeting to be called to understand the dimensions of the phenomenon and, in particular, the progress and spread of the virus, which serotypes have been isolated to date, how many farms and animals are involved and what are the risks and requirements for the movement of cattle and sheep themselves".
Thus the president of Confagricoltura Sardegna, Paolo Mele, in a letter sent to the councilors of Health, Armando Bartolazzi, and of Agriculture, Gian Franco Satta. The regional president of the agricultural trade association also asked " to know what the current trend is in vaccination prophylaxis on serotypes 4 and 8 of Bluetongue and what strategy is intended to be implemented to control the spread of serotype 3", for which there are no suitable vaccines available from regional veterinary services.
In terms of the consequences that the spread of the disease is causing to companies, Mele observed: «Since the reports coming from the territories highlight a varied typology of damages, with a prevalence of indirect ones compared to direct ones, which have characterized the previous epidemic waves, we ask Councilor Satta if the appropriate assessments are being made for the adjustment of the aid regime to support the companies involved».
Among the damages, in addition to the death of the animals that occurs in extreme cases of contagion, there is an increase in abortions in sheep now close to the lambing season. If these damages were confirmed by an in-depth scientific report, sheep and goat companies would have a double damage: the loss of the lamb and therefore that of the milk production for the affected animal in the 2024-25 season.
(Online Union)