Understanding Bluetongue Disease and China’s Import Ban: Causes, Symptoms, and Prevention

2024-01-31 12:01:10

Al-Hurra website reported that due to the outbreak of bluetongue disease, China banned the direct and indirect import of ruminants and their products from Iraq.

China also banned such imports from Belgium and the Netherlands following the outbreak of this disease as well.
This disease is caused by a virus that causes fever and ulcers in the mouth, and in some cases turns the animal’s tongue blue, and it can be very dangerous for sheep and cows.

According to the World Organization for Animal Health, bluetongue is a viral disease that may be contagious. It is transmitted by disease vectors and infects wild and domestic ruminants such as sheep, goats, cows, buffalo, deer, and most species of antelope and camels.

Bluetongue virus infection is not evident in the vast majority of animals but can cause fatal disease.

According to the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture and Village Development, bluetongue is a viral disease caused by the BTV virus.

A study from the Animal Health Organization in Paris, published by Agence France-Presse years ago, showed that climate change leads to the emergence of new diseases among animals, and some of them may be transmitted to humans.

Climate change also allows known animal diseases to spread geographically, such as bluetongue disease in sheep, which has struck some countries in northern Europe.

According to the National Office for Sanitary Safety of Food Products in Morocco (Onssa), sheep fever or blue tongue is a non-contagious disease caused by a virus from the retrovirus family.

This disease especially affects livestock such as sheep, goats, cows, camels and wild ruminants. In general, clinical signs of this disease appear only in sheep, according to the same source.

This disease is transmitted by mosquitoes, and its most important symptoms include high temperature, inflammation, ulceration, erosion and necrosis of the oral mucosa, swelling and blueness of the tongue, and lameness due to inflammation in the leg and muscles. This disease can cause miscarriage and can lead to death within 8 to 10 days or slow recovery accompanied by wool loss, infertility and delayed growth.

According to the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture and Village Development, the disease is usually transmitted by mosquitoes as well, and it can also be transmitted between animals during pregnancy or childbirth, or by reusing tools used to treat animals, such as syringes, thermometers, etc.

The disease results in significant damage and loss of milk production, wool damage, delayed growth, decreased fertility, and significant weight loss.

Its symptoms include fever, bleeding and ulcers in the tissues of the mouth and nose, excessive secretion of saliva and nasal discharge, swelling of the lips, tongue and jaw, inflammation over the hoof and lameness, weakness, depression, weight loss, diarrhea, vomiting and pneumonia.

There is no public health risk associated with bluetongue disease, according to the World Organization for Animal Health, as the virus is not transmitted through contact with animals or wool, nor through consumption of milk.

Vaccination is used as the most effective and practical measure to reduce the losses associated with the disease and the possibility of its transmission from the infected animal through vectors, in addition to taking insect control measures. (free)

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