EU Vets to Discuss Bluetongue Import Ban
EU - European vets are set to meet today to discuss plans to re-vamp Europe's bluetongue controls, opening the door for countries to impose import bans from areas where disease is circulating.The move comes after a new serotype, BTV1 was discovered on a farm near Blackpool in animals imported from France, prompting the industry to call for an urgent import ban.
Vets will now discuss plans to change the way Europe deals with bluetongue at a meeting of the Standing Committee on Food Chain and Animal Health (SCOFCAH) in Brussels.
Under the plans, Europe could be split into four zones – free areas, vaccination zones with no disease circulating, vaccination zones where virus is circulating and virus circulation zones where there is no vaccination.