Bluetongue outbreak hits record high on British farms

Why warmer weather is fuelling the bluetongue outbreak

Defra recorded 2,031 cases in England, 414 in Wales and 40 in Scotland.

That is in the three months since the 2026-27 season began, according to The Independant.

The total compares with 348 cases recorded in the 2025-26 season, and 163 the year before that. Bluetongue cases this year have already outstripped three years of totals combined.

Bluetongue spreads through the bite of infected midges rather than between animals directly.

Defra said this summer's heat and humidity had created "favourable conditions for the biting midges that spread bluetongue".

It believes that this is a large contributor behind the jump in cases this season.

The National Farmers' Union has urged livestock keepers to vaccinate their herds and flocks against the virus.

The current strain, serotype BTV-3, first appeared in England in 2023. It has continued to spread across the country since.

Bluetongue first reached the UK in 2007, when a BTV-8 strain spread from northern Europe, according to the Pirbright Institute.

Key answers to questions you might have

What is bluetongue and how does it spread?

Bluetongue is a viral, non-contagious disease spread by infected midges rather than through contact between animals.

It affects cattle, sheep, goats and deer. A share of infected sheep, deer and wild ruminants do not survive it.

Is bluetongue a risk to human health?

No, bluetongue poses no risk to human health.

The virus does not spread through contact with infected animals, their wool, or through drinking milk.