A major catastrophe. That is what Kortenhoef farmers Wilko and Hermien Kemp are currently experiencing. They were the first Dutch farm where the bluetongue virus broke out and has spread rapidly in recent weeks. They have already lost twenty sheep in the past two weeks. “And the worst of all: this isn’t even the peak yet,” they say. To make matters worse, cows are now also sick with bluetongue.
It is not the first time that Wilko and Hermien have had to deal with the bluetongue virus. The virus was also circulating about fifteen years ago and they also suffered from it then. “We had to take sheep away every day with a car and a trailer,” they look back.
The horrors of that time are now back in full force. Every week, tons of dead sheep are collected from Wilko and Hermien’s Het Veldhoen farm.
What is bluetongue?
Bluetongue is a non-contagious viral disease of sheep and other ruminants, such as cattle and goats. The spread appears to be mainly caused by midges, a type of mosquito. Sick animals cannot directly infect each other and the disease is not transmissible to humans.
The disease takes its name from its most striking symptom, a swollen and blue-colored tongue, but in practice this only rarely occurs. Common symptoms include high fever, drooling, swelling in the head including tongue and lips, and pain and inflammation in the hooves.
Red nose and snotty muscles
Wilko and Hermien recently discovered that their sheep were becoming ill. “A red nose, runny nose, watery eyes and high fever,” Hermien lists the symptoms. “It looks a bit like a good flu. Actually, you should compare it with that, like corona.”
As far as we know, they were the first to deal with it, but they are certainly no longer the only ones. More Wijdemeer farmers are now suffering from the virus, which is spreading rapidly. Farmer Aad Schoordijk on the edge of the municipality knows all about it and also has infected animals. “I now have two that have a very swollen tongue, about three centimeters,” he says.
The fact that the virus is spreading so quickly does not bode well for the rest of the country. Agriculture Minister Piet Adema warned last week that it is very likely that the entire country will experience infections around winter.
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Now also infected cows
Not only sheep can become ill, cows and other ruminants can also get it. Farmer Aad already has several infected cows. “JYou see some red spots on the nose and they are a bit lethargic. But the most striking thing is that milk production decreases,” he says.
Cattle become less ill than sheep, but they produce more virus in the blood for longer. That is why they play an important role in the spread of the virus.
“It’s a bad time. You can’t do anything about it, they have to get sick”
Worried about the future
With more and more sick animals, Wilko and Hermien have concerns about the near future. “It’s a bad time, they have to recover and there is little we can do about it. Unfortunately, antibiotics do not work against the bluetongue virus and the vaccine from the previous outbreak no longer works, the virus has mutated,” says Hermien. Work is being done on a new vaccine, but that will take some time. Farmers must hope that the livestock will survive the disease and produce antibodies.
Wilko and Hermien are also anxious for the upcoming spring, when normally many lambs would have to frolic through the meadow.
Lambs
But infected rams are not fertile for six to seven weeks, while now is the time to let the ram run with the sheep to let nature do its work. So the question is how many rams are fertile and reproduce. Infected ewes do become pregnant, but have a greater chance of miscarriage or birth defects at a later stage.
In short: the big question is whether lambs will be born in the spring and exactly how many.
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Disappointment
That is not only a disappointment for the farming couple, but also for many local elderly people and children.
Every spring, many elderly people and children come to watch and cuddle lambs. “Incredibly rewarding work. It would really be a shame if that could not continue,” she says. “I don’t want to disappoint people, they come with so much pleasure.”