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Bluetongue virus spreads to Danish islandCOPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP)--The bluetongue virus continues to spread north in Europe and has now been detected in sheep at the Danish island of Lolland, authorities said late Oct. 13. The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration said 250 animals at a farm in Sakskoebing, Lolland are being tested for the virus after one sheep tested positive for the disease. The bluetongue virus is carried by a certain species of tiny fly once common only in Mediterranean areas. However, since August 2006, outbreaks have also occurred in Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and Netherlands. It was detected in Britain for the first time last month. The disease does not affect humans, but can be potentially fatal to ruminant livestock. Experts say the insect has moved farther north due to global warming, and bluetongue may now be endemic in northern Europe. As a result of the outbreak in Lolland, restrictions has been imposed on the handling of cattle, sheep, goats and deer within a radius of 150 kilometers of the infected farm. Farmers in large parts of southern Denmark were already following strict regulations, following the outbreak of bluetongue in Germany. Jan Mousing, Chief Veterinary from the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, said he had hoped the country would be spared because there would have been fewer tiny flies during autumn and winter "We expect that a vaccine will have been developed next year. But unfortunately the disease has come to Denmark already now," Mousing said. Date: 10/18/07
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