On Friday, the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health backed an EU Commission package to update the rules on bluetongue, representing a move towards more flexible surveillance programs between member states.

Bluetongue spread to Northern Europe in 2006, reaching the UK in 2007, having been confined to Africa for a long time, affecting the Mediterranean coast and subsequently spreading North. The disease belongs to the same family of viruses as the newly discovered Schmallenberg virus, which is currently causing concern in the European livestock sector. Both diseases are spread by biting insects.

The disease has been brought under control in the EU through a vaccination programme, though restrictions still stand in countries where infection persists including France, Spain and Italy. The Commission said its new, more flexible package aims to reduce the burden on farmers and central authorities. It said the package and other amendments affecting imports of cattle, goats and sheep into the EU with relation to bluetongue are based on the latest scientific evidence.

Experts have warned that, as the effects of climate change worsen, the likelihood that some existing diseases will increase their spread and new pathogens like SBV may come to light will increase.

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