September 1, 2006

Dutch ease Bluetongue disease measures

The Dutch Agriculture Ministry decided on Thursday (Aug 31) to reduce the area of its safety zone and relax movement restrictions on animals it imposed during an outbreak of bluetongue.

The Ministry would reduce the size of the safety zone to 20 km from 100 km surrounding affected farms in the south as no traces of the disease had been found.

Authorities are now allowing transport of live cattle, sheep and goat in and out of the area. Authorities in northern Netherlands allowed animal exports after tests gave the animals from the region a clean bill of health.

Two weeks ago, a blanket ban on exports was imposed when the first case of bluetongue in sheep was found in the southern Netherlands.

A few scattered cases have also been reported in Belgium, Germany and France.

Bluetongue has been present for several years in parts of Spain and Italy but it seems to have shifted into northern Europe.