Bluetongue restrictions in England have been extended for the first time in nearly two months following the discovery of new cases in Dorset.

The move was confirmed on Friday (14 February), following confirmation of new infections in the county, which officials said were detected as part of winter surveillance work.

In response, the existing bluetongue restricted zone has been expanded to include Dorset, additional areas of Wiltshire and parts of both east Devon and Somerset.

Confirmed cases

The extension is the first to have been implemented since mid-December and the first to have been implemented since it was kept in place last month despite other restrictions being lifted in the seasonally low vector period.

A total of 212 cases of the BTV-3 virus strain have been confirmed across England and Wales since the present outbreak began last August.

A single case of the BTV-12 serotype, which had not previously been observed in the UK, was confirmed in Kent earlier this month, though no new restrictions were imposed in response to it.