The incidence of the bluetongue virus has thankfully been low to date. There have been lots of warnings in recent months regarding the increased risk of the virus spreading in higher temperatures.

As Dr Ruth Sanders from the Department of Agriculture outlined at the recent Teagasc sheep conference predicting what the prevalence of the virus and severity of disease will be like in 2026 is impossible.

It could be a case that Ireland will experience similar disease levels and clinical symptoms as England and Wales where fertility issues have been the dominant problem.

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There are other veterinary specialists that warn that if there were a high virus load in the environment in current temperatures then we would likely see the virus replicate and spread much faster.

We cannot predict with any degree of certainty what the outcome will be. The only thing that we know is that vaccination can play a vital role in reducing viraemia (spread of the virus) and clinical disease symptoms in animals and is the best form of defence against the disease.

Commercial decision

There has been a low level of uptake reported to date in commercial flocks to date. While the uptake in pedigree flocks has been higher, which is not surprising with higher value animals, it is still variable between regions. The decision to vaccinate is purely down to farmers to determine. The Department of Agriculture is encouraging farmers to vaccinate and Minister Martin Heydon has included it as an option in the 2026 National Sheep Welfare Scheme.

The vaccine represents a significant cost to the system with a significant range in prices reported ranging anywhere from €3.50 to €5 per sheep. It is worth pricing around to get the best deal or to be able to negotiate a better deal with your own veterinary practitioner.

Table 1 details an overview of the three vaccines approved for use in Ireland and the UK. At present the three vaccines licensed for use against BTV serotype-3 are marketed in packs ranging in size from 50ml to 252ml. There is a smaller pack size of 10ml for Bultavo-3 licensed for use but this is not being marketed by the company in Ireland at present.

For smaller herds and flocks the Department has confirmed that one vaccine pack can be prescribed and dispensed to more than one herd or flock subject to veterinary oversight and maintenance of strict biosecurity.

The duration of immunity has not been listed to-date on any of the product characteristics published by the relevant veterinary licensing bodies.