An ‘express’ investigation, developed from a Leonese laboratory, will allow the Netherlands to block the expansion of serotype 3 of bluetongue disease that is affecting sheep in several regions and threatened to spread throughout Europe, according to Leonoticias. …
Success has been achieved after the work carried out by the Leonese laboratory teams and their coordination with the research organizations that carried out the necessary clinical trials to verify its safety and effectiveness.
Outbreaks in the Netherlands
Bluetongue serotype 3 (BTV3) presented severe clinical signs that were reported in early September in the Amsterdam region. The rate of spread of this new strain has been even faster than that recorded by variant 8, between 2006 and 2008.
The rapid spread through the Netherlands and other neighboring European countries forced urgent intervention due to the “particularly aggressive” serotype that was reaching mortality rates of 40%. Sheep farms had already recorded significant productivity losses with serious consequences for animal welfare.
Syva then prioritized the development of an effective vaccine in sufficient units to respond to the expected demand in the countries that were being affected. At the beginning of December, Animal Health Europe launched a call at European level with animal health laboratories with the capacity to produce the vaccine. Here appeared the Leonese company that had already participated in vaccines since 2006 and that in 2019 registered the multistrain bluetongue vaccine of serotypes 1, 4 and 8.
Summer as a stop
The challenge was to have the doses available before the summer, when the seasonally vector-free period ends. A need that other countries, in addition to the Netherlands, joined. At the end of October they already had the strain and could prepare the documentation to register their clinical trials required by the European authorities, as pointed out by Dr. Hans de Smit.
Syva teams were able to evaluate, communicate and coordinate actions to obtain an effective and safe vaccine in just over six months. With this vaccine, livestock farmers and veterinarians in the Netherlands will be able to face the critical period of activity of the disease vector with less concern.
