LONDON, May 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Cattle at Bixley Farms in Norfolk were today (1 May) the first animals in
the country to be vaccinated against Bluetongue serotype 8 as over one
million doses are delivered for animals in the Protection Zone on the first
day of the vaccine roll-out.
Intervet, the animal health company behind this new vaccine, isolated the
Bluetongue serotype 8 virus in September 2006, soon after the first European
outbreak, and started an emergency programme to develop a suitable vaccine.
The vaccine has gone from research & development to full-scale production in
a record-breaking 20 months rather than the usual five to ten years and its
delivery is ahead of schedule.
Under EU law, vaccination is only allowed in a Protection Zone and
Defra's vaccination roll-out plan sets out how the vaccine will be
distributed to ensure that those livestock most at risk are the first to
receive it.
Defra awarded the vaccine tender to Intervet in December after a
three-way bid. The company was chosen on the strength of the vaccine's
technical credentials, the fact that it requires only one dose for sheep, the
speed at which the vaccine could be manufactured and a price point that would
encourage maximum uptake by the agricultural community.
David Hallas, general manager from Intervet UK, part of Schering-Plough,
comments: "Since Defra placed its order for 22.5 million doses, we have been
working around the clock to provide a vaccine to help fight this devastating
disease. It is a testament to all those involved at Intervet, Defra and the
regulatory authorities that we are ahead of schedule in releasing the vaccine
and will be able to help the farming community protect livestock in time for
the peak midge season. More doses of the vaccine will be delivered over the
next few weeks and months and we expect to complete the Defra order by
August."
Tim Cane, farm manager at Bixley Farms, comments: "Bluetongue is a
particularly horrific disease and whether you are a smallholder with a few
animals or a farmer with a large commercial enterprise it's our duty to
ensure that as many sheep and cattle in the protection zone as possible are
vaccinated to help prevent the disease from spreading."
For further information on Bluetongue, please log on to
http://www.bluetongue-info.co.uk.
Notes to Editor
Schering-Plough is an innovation-driven, science-centred global health
care company. Through its own biopharmaceutical research and collaborations
with partners, Schering-Plough creates therapies that help save and improve
lives around the world. The company applies its research-and-development
platform to human prescription and consumer products as well as to animal
health products. Schering-Plough's vision is to "Earn Trust, Every Day" with
the doctors, patients, customers and other stakeholders served by its
colleagues around the world. The company is based in Kenilworth, N.J., and
its website is http://www.schering-plough.com.
Intervet UK Ltd, a part of Schering-Plough, is a leading animal health
company in the UK based in Milton Keynes. Intervet is dedicated to the
research and development of high quality innovative animal health products
and providing industry-leading technical support and customer service. For
more information visit the following websites: http://www.intervet.co.uk and
http://www.future-of-vaccination.co.uk.
Details of the strategy for rolling out vaccination across
England can be found on the Defra website:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/notifiable/bluetongue/control/index.htm
Details of JAB (the Joint campaign against website) can be
found on the NFU website: http://www.nfuonline.com/x23015.xml.
Intervet
