“It’s worrying to see new cases of Bluetongue being identified in additional parts of the country, diagnosed as part of ongoing surveillance.

“It’s clear that disease is more widespread than we initially thought, and it’s likely to spread further when conditions become milder.

“We don’t know how severe the disease might be, and we certainly hope that symptoms will be mild, but given the sensitivity of the breeding season, and the importance of high fertility in herds, farmers should speak to their vets to seek advice as to whether vaccination would be appropriate in their own herd circumstances”, said Edward Carr.