Bluetongue serotype 3 (BTV-3) vaccine: information for keepers
Information about the availability of BTV-3 vaccines for animal keepers.
Applies to England
Three unauthorised BTV-3 vaccines have been permitted for use. You can only use these vaccines if your use is compliant with a valid licence. Only keepers in England can access a licence for vaccine.
About the vaccines
Although these vaccines are not authorised, the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) has assessed them. They consider the vaccines to be of a consistent quality and safety, and efficacy has been demonstrated. Therefore, they meet the administration criteria under Schedule 4 of the Veterinary Medicine Regulations 2013 (VMR 2013).
Where you can use a BTV-3 vaccine
You can use these vaccines in England, but you must comply with the legal conditions of the general licence.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have not licensed the use of BTV-3 vaccines but will keep this position under review.
Important information for vets
In addition to your responsibility to inform the relevant authorities of any adverse effects that you notice, the UK Chief Veterinary Officer has published an advisory note asking for your cooperation to keep records of the bluetongue vaccine doses that you order, supply and prescribe.
Vets should inform Defra of all vaccines they prescribe within 7 days of the date prescribed. Email exotic.disease.policy@defra.gov.uk to notify.
The UK Chief Veterinary Officer has requested this record keeping because this is the first time the power to permit an unauthorised vaccine has been used.
Speak to your vet
In the absence of an authorised vaccine, animal keepers should discuss the merits of BTV-3 vaccination with their vet.
Work with your vet to both:
- determine if BTV-3 vaccination is right for your animals
- decide the right time to vaccinate
Deciding when to vaccinate your animals
You might choose to:
- wait until next year (2025) to vaccinate your animals
- vaccinate your animals now
- not vaccinate your animals
Reasons why you might want to vaccinate your animals now could include having high-value stock, high production units, rare breeds, or smallholdings, or if the impact of reduced productivity, abortions and reduced animal welfare might affect conservation efforts.
Consider the characteristics of the vaccines
Unlike the authorised vaccines for other bluetongue serotypes, the BTV-3 vaccines claim to reduce viraemia rather than prevent it.
This means that BTV-3 vaccines may not prevent your animals from being infected or infectious. Depending on the vaccine, their claims include reduction or prevention of clinical signs experienced or mortality
Keep a record of your vaccinations
Your vet must prescribe the vaccine, but you, the animal keeper, can administer the vaccine to your animals. You are reminded to use safe practice.
When you use a BTV-3 vaccination you must:
- keep a record of every animal you vaccinate – the information you need to record is on the general and specific licences
- keep these records for at least 5 years
- provide details including the individual animal IDs and vaccine you use to Defra within 48 hours of vaccinating
Moving vaccinated animals
All movement controls and trade restrictions still apply to BTV-3 vaccinated animals.
Vaccinated animals can still move into Scotland or Wales if they are moving from a bluetongue disease free area. However, vaccinated animals within a bluetongue zone (for example, restricted zone or temporary control zone) are subject to the same movement controls as unvaccinated animals.
All animals within a bluetongue zone, including animals vaccinated against bluetongue, require a licence to move out of the zone. Moving an animal to live outside of a bluetongue zone requires a specific licence as well as pre-movement and post-movement tests.
You should not test vaccinated animals as part of a pre-movement test in bluetongue zones until at least 7 days after their vaccination. This will prevent interference with BTV-3 monitoring.
There is some risk that individual countries could take a precautionary approach regarding trade in products from vaccinated animals. Defra does not judge this to be a major concern, particularly given current use of these vaccines on the continent. There are no known trading restrictions on products of animal origin from vaccinated animals. If restrictions were applied, we would engage with trade partners to try to mitigate these.
Updates to this page
Last updated 18 October 2024 + show all updates
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The general licence for bluetongue serotype 3 (BTV-3) now applies to all counties in England.
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First published.