Until now, no bluetongue had appeared in our province. The viral disease appeared in the Netherlands for the first time in a long time at the beginning of September.
The disease is transmitted by midges, very small biting flies, and mainly affects sheep, but cattle and goats can also become ill. According to the NVWA, alpacas and deer are also at risk. Zoo animals such as camels, dromedaries, giraffes and okapis can also become infected. Companies where bluetongue outbreaks have a reporting obligation.
In animals that are very sick, the tongue turns blue. They also have a high fever, drool, walk lame and have a rounded back. Sheep in particular die from the disease. Bluetongue is not transmissible to humans.
Bluetongue first appeared in the Netherlands in 2006. It took until 2008 for the animal disease to disappear from the Netherlands. The first reports this year of bluetongue infections came in September from Wijdemeren in North Holland and Stichtse Vecht in Utrecht. The reports of suspicious and positive locations are concentrated in North Holland, South Holland, Utrecht and Gelderland.