The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Natural Environment has declared Ibiza and Formentera as areas affected by bluetongue serotype 3, after confirming a positive case in a sheep farm in the municipality of Santa Eulària des Riu, with a census of 92 sheep, two of them with symptoms. The measure coincides with the beginning of the second compulsory vaccination campaign against serotype 8 in the Pitiusas.
As reported by the Government in a statement, the doses of serotype 3 will be administered in parallel to the planned campaign, inoculating the whole of the Pitiusan herd.
“A single very localized case has been detected, and we do not want to generate unnecessary alarms,” explained the Director General of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development, Fernando Fernandez, who confirmed that the outbreak has already been registered in the Veterinary Health Alert System (RASVE).
The resolution declaring the health emergency in the Pitiusas will be published this Tuesday in the Official Bulletin of the Balearic Islands (BOIB). The measures will be equivalent to those adopted in Mallorca, where the first positive serotype 3 was reported in early October.
Vaccination progress in Mallorca
In Mallorca, the vaccination campaign against serotype 3 is progressing “at a good pace”, according to data from the Government. Until November 5, 79% of the sheep census in the priority radius of 10 kilometers is already fully immunized. In the island as a whole, the percentage reaches 55.7% of sheep and 30% of cattle.
Fernandez stressed that the vaccination strategy has slowed the spread of the disease, with 82% of the outbreaks concentrated in the west of the island and only 14 of the 80 cases in the eastern part.
Serotype 8 and situation in the Balearic Islands
In addition, at the end of October the second year of vaccination of serotype 8 was launched throughout the archipelago. In Mallorca, 33.7% of the sheep population of the livestock health defense groups (ADS) has been vaccinated, while in Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera the campaign began this week and now reaches 7% of the total population.
No outbreak of serotype 8 has been detected in the Balearic Islands this year. If the situation remains stable, the Government will be able to request the European Union to declare a bluetongue-free zone for this serotype in 2026.
