Bluetongue vaccine withheld

A batch of bluetongue vaccine destined for Wales, Cornwall and Yorkshire, has been withheld by manufacturers bringing a temporary halt to progress on DEFRA’s roll-out strategy.

DEFRA said that the batch, which was supposed to have been made available from 2 June, needed to undergo further testing before it could be released. And, the department added that the extension of the Protection Zone would not now go ahead this week.

“There are no concerns with the production process, or with vaccine that has been delivered to this date. This is an issue with an individual batch which requires further investigation,” a DEFRA spokeswoman said.

“We are working very closely with manufacturers, Intervet, on determining the availability of the next batches of vaccine and the impact that this will have on the roll-out of vaccination. “As soon as further batches of vaccine are available, we will continue to expand the Protection Zone in line with the published vaccination roll-out plan,” the spokeswoman said.

Areas affected by the delay are:

• Cornwall
• East Riding of Yorkshire
• West Yorkshire
• South Yorkshire
• The district of Selby
• Warwickshire
• Gloucestershire