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Livestock farmers are being urged to continue joining the Bluetongue vaccination campaign to protect the industry against this devastating disease.

The rallying call comes as Merial announces the release of the first batch (2.1 million) of the 13 million doses of bluetongue serotype-8 (BTV-8) vaccine contracted by Defra. This means all of Shropshire, Cheshire, Greater Manchester and North Yorkshire, together with all of Lancashire and Merseyside, will be included in the bluetongue protection zone from August 7 to allow vaccination to take place.

Core industry group JAB is leading the push on vaccination against the disease which, at its worst, kills both cattle and sheep. It swept across Europe in 2007 and so far 137 cases have been detected in England. As yet no new cases of the disease have been reported in England in 2008 but JAB warns continued vaccination is imperative as the disease is expected to re-emerge soon as the midges that spread the virus are more active during warmer weather.

The successful, industry-wide campaign has so far seen over 18.8 million vaccine doses released in the affected areas of England. Take up of the vaccine among producers has been high but, for the roll-out programme to continue its success, farmers across areas of the country coming into the protection zone will have to vaccinate at the earliest opportunity to prevent the threat of bluetongue from spreading.

In a joint statement JAB said: "We have been fortunate so far in 2008 as we have not yet seen a re-emergence of the virus in England. However, reports from France show there has been a dramatic increase in the number of new cases - nearly 900 in the last week. Using the experiences of 2007 and 2008 as a model experts believe a similar situation could happen in the UK as the summer progresses unless we protect our livestock."

Graham Davenport, Head of Production Animal Business - Merial Animal Health, said: "We are delighted to be supplying BTVPUR-8 vaccine through Defra to England and Wales and to be working in conjunction with the key stakeholders in supporting the push for vaccination of livestock at this critical time of year. Our experience with mass vaccination programmes against various bluetongue serotypes in Europe means we understand how imperative it is to control this disease."

JAB added: "We must not forget the severe economic hardship bluetongue caused the farming community across Europe in 2007 and this included farmers in the Eastern areas of England. The message is clear - to protect our industry from this disease "don't hesitate, vaccinate"."

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