Wales licenses Bluetongue vaccines for voluntary use
The vaccines must be prescribed by a veterinary surgeon and can be sold in veterinary practices.
The Welsh government has approved three Bluetongue vaccines for emergency use in Wales.
From 1 March an online general licence will become available for the vaccines' use. It will then be obtainable on prescription and can be sold by veterinary practices.
After appropriate guidance, livestock keepers will be permitted to administer the vaccines themselves. The vaccines must be prescribed by a veterinary surgeon and detailed vaccination records must be kept for five years.
The decision comes as Bluetongue virus (BTV-3) continues to spread across England. The three vaccines are already licensed for use in England.
Richard Irvine, CVO for Wales, said: “This decision to license these vaccines was informed by our recent risk assessment indicating that Wales is now at high risk of experiencing an incursion of Bluetongue this year.
“Our primary aim is to keep Bluetongue out of Wales through biosecurity, vigilance and safe sourcing of livestock.”
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With Strangles Awareness Week just around the corner (5-11 May), vets are being encouraged to share a survey about the disease with their horse-owning clients.
