Bluetongue in the UK: more than 2,300 premises affected by the end of September

Bluetongue virus serotype 3 (BTV-3) has expanded sharply across Great Britain during September 2026, with 2,309 affected premises confirmed in the 2026–2027 season by 30 September. England remains the main focus, but Wales has also recorded several hundred cases and transmission has extended into south-west Scotland. Sheep account for a large share of recent clinical detections, while cattle are also regularly affected.

According to Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency, the UK total reached 2,309 confirmed premises by 30 September: 1,901 in England, 368 in Wales and 40 in Scotland, with no cases reported in Northern Ireland. No BTV-8 cases had been confirmed during the 2026–2027 season; the current outbreak is therefore overwhelmingly associated with BTV-3.

A “case” in the UK figures represents a premises where bluetongue has been confirmed following laboratory testing or clinical diagnosis, not the number of individual infected animals.

September brought a rapid rise in cases

The final days of September illustrate the intensity of transmission. On 29 September alone, 76 new cases were confirmed in England, 30 in Wales and one in Scotland. In England, affected counties included Cheshire, Cornwall, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Devon, Dorset, East Riding of Yorkshire, Gloucestershire, the Isle of Wight, Lancashire, North Yorkshire, Somerset, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and Wiltshire.

Of the 76 English cases, 46 were confirmed as BTV-3, involving 31 sheep premises and 15 cattle premises. Another 30 were confirmed as bluetongue but the serotype had not yet been determined; these involved 16 sheep premises and 14 cattle premises. Almost all were investigated after reports of suspicious clinical signs.

Wales reported 30 new BTV-3 cases on the same date, spread across Bridgend, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, Monmouthshire, Neath Port Talbot, Pembrokeshire, Powys, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Swansea and the Vale of Glamorgan. Twenty-five involved sheep and five cattle.

Scotland confirmed one additional case in cattle in Dumfries and Galloway.

Sheep remain heavily affected

Recent daily updates show that sheep are particularly prominent in the current wave. For example, on 25 September, 43 new cases were confirmed in England and 26 BTV-3 cases in Wales. On 24 September, England reported 48 new cases, Wales 23 and Scotland two. On 23 September, England recorded 61 new cases and Wales 17.

This pattern continued throughout the second half of September, with frequent daily notifications involving dozens of premises.

More than 1,000 suspected premises still under investigation

The confirmed figures may continue to rise substantially. As of 30 September, APHA reported 1,010 additional potential bluetongue cases under investigation in Great Britain. These are premises where suspicious clinical signs had been reported but laboratory results were still pending.

That backlog is important when interpreting the 2,309 confirmed-premises figure. The end-of-September total therefore describes a rapidly evolving outbreak rather than a final seasonal count.

England and Wales entirely within restricted zones

The geographic expansion of BTV-3 has resulted in broad movement controls. The whole of England is now a bluetongue restricted zone, as is the whole of Wales. Animals can move within England and between England and Wales without specific bluetongue licences or pre-movement testing, but restrictions remain on germinal products such as semen, ova and embryos.

In Scotland, a restricted zone was established in the south-west on 10 September, centred on Dumfries and Galloway. Movements of susceptible livestock from bluetongue restricted areas into disease-free parts of Scotland remain subject to specific conditions and licensing.

Scotland is now part of the transmission picture

Scotland entered the 2026 outbreak later than England and Wales, but detections have continued through September. Cases have been concentrated in Dumfries and Galloway, where both sheep and cattle have been affected. The emergence of these cases led first to a temporary control zone and then to a formal restricted zone in south-west Scotland.

The Scottish situation remains much smaller numerically than in England and Wales, but it demonstrates that the virus has moved beyond its earlier southern British distribution.

Vaccination is becoming central to control

With BTV-3 now widely established across England and Wales, vaccination has become the main practical tool for reducing clinical disease and losses. UK veterinary authorities and industry organisations have increasingly emphasised vaccination during 2026 as case numbers have risen. Two BTV-3 vaccines now have marketing authorisation in the UK, and their use is permitted under the relevant licensing arrangements.

Vaccination does not eliminate Culicoides exposure or guarantee absence of infection, but it is intended primarily to reduce disease severity, mortality and production losses.

A very different season from 2025

By late May 2026, Great Britain had recorded only 341 bluetongue cases in the 2025–2026 season. By 30 September, the new 2026–2027 season had already reached 2,309 affected premises. The contrast highlights how rapidly the epidemiological situation has changed over the summer.

The defining feature of the 2026 UK season is no longer isolated introduction. BTV-3 is now circulating widely across England and Wales, has entered south-west Scotland, and is generating a sustained stream of clinically apparent disease in both sheep and cattle.

At the same time, the absence of BTV-8 detections means the current British outbreak remains epidemiologically distinct from the mixed-serotype situation seen in parts of continental Europe.