The Ministry of Agriculture is preparing to reinforce support for producer organizations against bluetongue disease and will invest in a disinfestation plan to stop the spread, he told Lusa.
“The Ministry of Agriculture is working on a plan to Strengthen prevention and support for producer organizations. since the appearance of the first case of serotype three of bluetongue disease with the aim of preventing its spread,” he said, in response to Lusa.
In addition to reinforcing the annual subsidy granted to producer organizations, the Luís Montenegro executive will invest in a national pest control plan to stop the spread of the transmitting vector and the disease. The ministry headed by José Manuel Fernandes stated that this plan will prevent the spread of bluetongue serotype three, but also other diseases transmitted by insects, such as bovine hemorrhagic disease. The Government has not revealed when this plan will move forward.
Bluetongue disease has already affected at least 279 cattle and sheep farms, mainly in Évora and Beja, and has caused death of 1,775 animalsaccording to data provided by the Ministry of Agriculture to Lusa. Bluetongue or bluetongue is a notifiable disease, but, according to the Government, notifications have only come with information related to livestock, after collecting samples.
The latest available data, reported this Monday, indicate that 41 livestock farms were affected, with 102 animals affected and no mortality. In the case of sheep, there are 238 farms and 11,934 animals affected and 1,775 deaths.
By districts, Évora stands out, with 90 affected farms, and Beja, with 76, followed by Setúbal (48) and Portalegre (20). These data refer to the number of livestock farms that tested positive for BTV-3, the bluetongue serotype, detected for the first time on September 13.
“Although the weather forecast for the coming weeks, a drop in temperatures, will contribute significantly to the reduction in the number of insects of the Culicoides genus – biological vectors of disease transmission -, which will consequently reduce the risk of infection between animals, the The Ministry is working to support sheep producers in the national territory,” he added, without further details.
Asked if the State is considering supporting the entire bluetongue vaccine, the Ministry of Agriculture said that, as an extraordinary measure, approved to increase the annual subsidy for the acquisition of the vaccine by one million euros.
Bluetongue is an infectious viral disease, not transmissible to humans. Three bluetongue serotypes circulate in Portugal: BTV-4, which appeared for the first time in 2004 and was detected again in 2013 and 2023, BTV-1, identified in 2007, with outbreaks until 2021, and BTV-3 .
Source: Observadora
