Scotland has recorded its first-ever case of bluetongue virus in an animal at a farm in Creetown. The affected animal, a lamb, did not exhibit all the typical symptoms of the disease, according to farmer Fiona Johnson.
Johnson, who moved her family from Bedfordshire to southwest Scotland earlier this year, expressed guilt over the situation, despite having done nothing wrong. She had purchased a small number of local animals for meat production just months before the diagnosis.
Experts believe that midges infected with the bluetongue virus were carried by wind from England, where there are currently 439 confirmed cases. Johnson's other animals, including 27 lambs and five calves, have tested negative for the disease. Scotland currently has four confirmed cases of bluetongue.
The farming community is particularly concerned about the potential spread of the disease, especially as it coincides with the period when animals are prepared for sale for breeding. Johnson stated that larger local farms with thousands of sheep are on high alert. "For them, I feel guilty," she said, adding, "Although we'd done absolutely nothing wrong, I felt awful."