The forecast is that more than 19,000 cattle and more than 191,000 sheep will be vaccinated.
The Directorate General of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development, of the Regional Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, has begun the vaccination of sheep and cattle against the bluetongue virus. This is the second vaccination campaign against this disease, which was detected in the Balearic Islands in June 2021. The first doses began to be administered last week.

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The forecast for this campaign, which is expected to last until mid-December, is that some 19,200 cattle and 191,700 sheep will be vaccinated throughout the islands. Vaccination of livestock is compulsory and will be administered to all healthy animals on farms from the age of three months. The vaccinations are free of charge for livestock farmers. Between 1 December and 20 April, the archipelago is within the ‘seasonally free’ period of the vector and, therefore, vaccination must be started before the end of this period.

In addition, as during the previous season, measures are adopted in relation to movements within the community, whether for slaughter, fattening or to other farms, to prevent the spread of the disease within the Balearic Islands.

277 outbreaks notified

The official declaration of the presence of the disease in the Balearic Islands was on 30 June 2021. Since then, an action plan has been adopted within the island territory. A total of 277 outbreaks of bluetongue were reported, 270 of which in Mallorca (mainly in the Manacor/Felanitx and Inca/Campos areas), one in Menorca and six in Eivissa (three of which in Sant Antoni).

Bluetongue is not a zoonosis and does not affect humans. Moreover, it does not represent any risk for consumers, not even in terms of meat and milk from infected animals. It is transmitted between animals through the bite of certain species of mosquitoes of the genus Culicoides.