I HAVE recently been to a day-long meeting on Bluetongue. I have never left a meeting more worried and depressed about a disease. The speakers covered what we know about the virus, the midge that carries it, the disease in sheep and cattle, and our options for control. Bluetongue is a viral disease of ruminants. It almost certainly originated in Africa, where all 24 strains of the virus can be found. Each strain represents a different disease because there is no cross protection between strains. This means that a new vaccine is required for each strain. It is a notifiable disease like Foot and Mouth because of the severity of its effect on animals and its huge welfare and financial cost to the livestock industry. The Bluetongue virus is transmitted to a ruminant by the bite of an infected midge. Midges themselves become infected by having a blood meal from a ruminant that has bluetongue virus circulating in its blood. So the cycle continues multiplying up virus all the time. SEE Vet Tim Bebbington's full article in the Farming Diary, free inside the Cornish & Devon Post Series, on sale now. It's packed with local farming news and pictures.