Bluetongue News

To the week ending 23 May, 9 million doses of Bovilis® BTV8 vaccine will have entered the supply chain, and Defra has expanded the Protection Zone to allow more farmers to vaccinate.

Defra awarded Intervet the contract to produce and supply 22.5 million doses of bluetongue serotype 8 vaccine in late 2007 after a three-way tender process.

The licence or marketing authorisation for Bovilis® BTV8 was granted by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate on 1st April 2008 meaning that the vaccine could be sold in the UK.

Moving as fast as possible, Intervet made the first batch of product available to the UK market just a month later when it was despatched into the wholesaler and vet chain on 30th April.  The first animals, a dairy herd in Norfolk, were then vaccinated on the 1st May.

At the same time as making the vaccine available, Intervet provided a specifically designed vaccinator gun to the wholesale trade.  The gun is unique in that it is calibrated to give a 1ml dose and can be used with the 50ml bottles.  When using a 20ml (20 dose) bottle, producers are advised to use a normal bottle-mounted gun to minimise air pockets and, therefore, inaccurate dosing.