The Department of Agriculture must immediately move to have bluetongue vaccines licensed and available for use, the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) has demanded.

This comes as the number of suspected bluetongue cases in NI increases.

This comes as a further 44 suspected cases have been confirmed on a Co Down farm near Bangor, which has had two confirmed cases of bluetongue in recent days.

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The IFA had called on the Department throughout the year to have vaccines available for emergency use and have them in stock should farmers need to use them.

“We had expected the cases from the weekend to be confirmed and for more cases to be identified in the region due to how the disease is spread," IFA president Francie Gorman said.

"The lower temperatures and reduced midge activity at this time of year does provide the opportunity to contain the outbreak. The Department of Agriculture must work closely with DAERA in NI to achieve this and ensure we don’t have any disruption to trade,” he said.

Agreements

Most EU member states with BTV 3, Gorman added, have overcome the issues with live exports through bilateral trade arrangements.

"The Department of Agriculture must immediately move to open these discussions to maintain trade from Ireland should BTV 3 be found here.

“Farmers are actively playing their part in monitoring livestock for any signs of the disease and reporting any suspicions to their vets and the Department,” he said.

IFA animal health chair TJ Maher said it is critical everything is done to prevent this disease from spreading.

“At this time of year, vector activity is low, which creates potential for the disease to be contained and eradicated. Trade disruption and potential production losses on farms would impact directly and solely on farmers if the disease spread," Maher said.