Denmark Reports Cases of Bluetongue Disease That Can Be Fatal to Sheep but is Harmless to Humans

Sep 05, 2024

Denmark reported Tuesday cases of bluetongue in the country's east, a non-contagious, insect-borne viral disease that is harmless to humans but can be fatal for so-called ruminant animals—mainly sheep but also cows and goats.

Authorities said the virus known as bluetongue serotype 3, or BTV-3, has been crawling up through Europe in the past weeks. It's spread by midges that carry the virus and that are typically found in warmer weather.

It has been reported on the island where Copenhagen is located. Cases have also been reported in Germany, the Netherlands and France, Danish authorities said.

The first case in Denmark was recorded in early August, on a Danish farm with sheep and cows near the German border. Danish authorities have also informed the European Commission about the case and animals have since been vaccinated to try and contain the spread.

The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration said tests results are upcoming from the island of Funen in central Denmark, where it is also suspected.

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Video: Cleaning Sheep Barns & Setting Up Chutes

Indoor sheep farming in winter at pre-lambing time requires that, at Ewetopia Farms, we need to clean out the barns and manure in order to keep the sheep pens clean, dry and fresh for the pregnant ewes to stay healthy while indoors in confinement. In today’s vlog, we put fresh bedding into all of the barns and we remove manure from the first groups of ewes due to lamb so that they are all ready for lambs being born in the next few days. Also, in preparation for lambing, we moved one of the sorting chutes to the Coveralls with the replacement ewe lambs. This allows us to do sorting and vaccines more easily with them while the barnyard is snow covered and hard to move sheep safely around in. Additionally, it frees up space for the second groups of pregnant ewes where the chute was initially.