Lisbon, Jan. 16, 2025 (Lusa) - Portugal's parliament has recommended that the government urgently carry out a compulsory campaign to vaccinate sheep against bluetongue serotype three.
In a statute published in the Diário da República on Thursday, parliament recommended that the government "urgently carry out a compulsory and free vaccination campaign of the national sheep population against bluetongue disease - serotype three".
Parliament also called for financial support measures for farmers to deal with the damage caused by this disease.
On the other hand, it recommends adjusting the measures of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to prevent producers from losing aid "as a result of the decrease in the number of animals killed by bluetongue disease - serotype three".
This recommendation, signed by the speaker of parliament, José Pedro Aguiar Branco, was approved on Sunday.
The bluetongue virus has already killed more than 37,000 sheep and affected 1,800 farms, totalling 118,607 infected, according to data from the Directorate-General for Food and Veterinary (DGAV) sent to Lusa last week.
So far, 118,607 sheep have been infected with bluetongue disease.
These figures only reflect the notifications received by the DGAV, so the numbers could be even higher.
The number of dead sheep stands at 37,395 and the number of farms at 1,834.
The government has funded 385,050 doses of vaccine against serotype three of the bluetongue virus, totalling more than €982,318, mainly for the districts of Portalegre, Évora, Beja and Castelo Branco, according to data sent to Lusa.
The financial execution of the subsidy is at 97.6%.
The government allocated €1 million last year to producer organisations to finance vaccination.
The costs of purchasing the vaccine against bluetongue serotype three were paid to 34 organisations.
Since October, Mainland Portugal has been affected by serotypes three and four of the bluetongue virus. The Azores and Madeira are free of the disease.
Vaccination of adult breeding sheep and young sheep intended for breeding and cattle is compulsory against serotypes one and four of the bluetongue virus.
Mainland cattle and sheep may be vaccinated against serotypes three and eight.
Exceptionally, inactivated vaccines against bluetongue serotypes not present in Portugal can also be vaccinated with prior authorisation from the Directorate-General for Food and Veterinary (DGAV).
The DGAV provides compulsory vaccination to the Livestock Producers' Organisations for Animal Health (OPSA).
The government will also launch an eight-month disinsection plan in March to combat the disease transmitted by mosquitoes.
Bluetongue is a notifiable viral disease that affects ruminants and is not transmissible to humans.
Three serotypes of bluetongue were circulating in Portugal, namely BTV-4, which first appeared in 2004 and was detected again in 2013 and 2023, BTV-1, identified in 2007, with outbreaks until 2021, and BTV-3, detected for the first time on 13 September.
PE/ADB // ADB.
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