Campaign for massive vaccination of sheep

The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries of the Balearic Government is preparing a campaign of vaccination of sheep on the island to combat the illness known as blue tongue.

The European Bank of Vaccine, dependent on Brussels has ceded to the Spanish State a total of 400,000 vaccine doses against blue tongue for the Balearics. It is foreseen that vaccines, made in a South African laboratory, will arrive next week to start the vaccination of all the sheep on the island.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, 100 exploitations are affected by the illness on Mallorca.

Blue tongue is an infectious illness produced by a virus. The only means of transmission is a mosquito of the genus Culicoide. This is a specific and exclusive illness for ruminants and not transmitted to humans.

The Department has adopted a series of measures to control the outbreak, avoid its spread and to try to obtain the eradication. Some of these measures are: combating by breeders against the mosquito, the restriction of movement of animals, and measures within the farms to separate healthy animals from the sick and the slaughter of affected animals.

Source: Servei de comunicació del Govern de les Illes Balears

Date of publication: 12/10/2000

Mallorca >> News >> Archive 1999-2003 >> Campaign for massive vaccination of sheep