Just over a month after the first case of bluetongue was detected in Sweden, animals in 296 herds were infected.
The majority of infected animals are found in coastal areas in the provinces of Västra Götaland, Halland and Skåne. But individual cases have also been found in the districts of Blekinge and Kronoberg. That's what the SVA wrote on its website, which also compiled reported symptoms in relation to reports of suspected infection.
At the time of sampling, the sheep showed decreased general condition, appetite, lameness/rigidity, fever, and increased salivation. However, cattle showed a slightly more widespread symptomatic picture with pathological changes on the muzzle and in the nasal cavity, decreased general condition, increased salivation and fever being the most common. But hopefully the spread of infection will subside soon:
With the drop in temperatures, we now see that the spread of infection is slowing and we expect it to stop completely during the next few weeks. If fall temperatures continue to hold, the bluetongue virus won't be able to replicate in scald knots, says Karl Stahl, a government animal epidemiologist at the SVA.
It constantly rotates in the south
The bluetongue virus that came to Sweden is type 3 (BVT3). In October 2024, cases of BVT12 were detected in the Netherlands and other stereotypes are constantly spreading in southern Europe but outbreaks occur sporadically in the north.
– BTV 3 will likely spread in Sweden also in 2025. Since infection is more widespread in our immediate area now than it was at the end of the vector season in 2023, it is likely that infection will spread in Sweden during the vector period. The 2025 season will start earlier than in 2024. This means infections could be more widespread in 2025 than in 2024, says Karl Stahl.
The article was published on Monday, October 21, 2024
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