Bluetongue disease on one in four farms in the Jura
Published: Friday, Nov 8th 2024, 15:50
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Bluetongue disease continues to spread in the canton of Jura. At least 250 of the approximately 1000 farms in the canton are now affected and therefore closed. The disease is having an emotional and financial impact on farmers in the Jura.
"There are farms that have not been checked or where the virus has not occurred acutely," Grégoire Theubet, a veterinarian from Courgenay, told the Keystone-SDA news agency on Friday. "I also think that there is a large gray area."
On October 30, Jacques Gerber, the cantonal Minister for Economic Affairs and Health, told the Jura parliament that 240 farms were affected and on October 9, the cantonal veterinarian spoke of 170 affected farms.
Farmers under pressure
The losses are compensated at 9% of the animal value by the canton's animal disease fund. However, farmers have to contend with further losses, as the measures introduced to limit the spread of the disease restrict milk production, sales and animal traffic. Added to this are the veterinary costs.
The Jura cattle breeders would like the vaccine against bluetongue serotype 3 (BTV-3), which can be used in Switzerland, to also be covered by the animal disease fund. They have to cope with the emotional burden of losing their animals as well as additional office work.
Mosquito as a carrier of the virus
The disease is spread by midges, a small, blood-sucking species of mosquito. The infection leads to severe symptoms such as fever, inflammation of the mucous membranes and miscarriages, particularly in sheep; the mortality rate can be as high as 70 percent.
The disease often causes milder symptoms in cattle. The pathogen poses no danger to humans.
©Keystone/SDA
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