Eradication of bluetongue disease in Germany by vaccination.

Bluetongue disease first broke out in Germany on 21 August 2006, almost simultaneously with the first outbreaks in Belgium and The Netherlands. More extensive tests showed that the serotype was serotype 8. Due to westerly winds the disease spread rapidly towards the East, with the result that in the year 2008 large parts of Germany were affected. The traditional methods of animal disease control were not of much help in view of the transmission of the disease by insects; the speed of the spread of the disease could only be slowed down by movement restrictions, but could not be influenced in a decisive manner. Authorised vaccines were not (yet) available. A large-scale field study based on three prototypes in bovine animals and sheep revealed that they were both effective and safe. Consequently, the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection issued an exceptional permission to administer these non-authorised vaccines. In May 2008, large-scale vaccination campaigns were launched (vaccination of all bovines, sheep and goats). As a consequence, the disease outbreak figures declined drastically. In 2009, the last blanket vaccinations were administered and from 2010 animal keepers were allowed to continue vaccinating their livestock on a voluntary basis. Intensive tests (serological, PCR) showed in the years 2010 and 2011 that BTV8 no longer circulated among the livestock population. Effective from 15.02.2012, Germany declared itself free from BTV8 in line with Article 8.3.3 of the OIE Animal Health Code.