The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has confirmed further cases of bluetongue (BTV-3) across the UK.

Four new cases were confirmed in England from 23 to 25 October, two involving sheep and two involving cattle.

A bovine case has been found in Wales over the same time period, although there have been no new cases in Scotland.

These most recent findings bring the UK’s confirmed cases of bluetongue virus to 3,445, of which 2,898 have been detected in England, 493 in Wales and 54 in Scotland.

Republic of Ireland

In the Republic of Ireland, BTV-3 has now been identified across 15 counties with Co Leitrim being the latest to confirm cases of the virus in a herd of cattle.

An update from the Department of Agriculture Food and Marine (DAFM) on Tuesday 27 October also confirmed cases of BTV-3 in Co Meath involving sheep.

DAFM’s latest update is that there have been 62 confirmed cases of BTV-3, with 58 of these involving cattle and four in sheep.