29 October 2026: Outbreak of bluetongue virus in Latvia
Updated 3 November 2026
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Date: 29 October 2026
Purpose
To inform you of new import restrictions on live ruminants and ruminant germinal products from Latvia following an outbreak of Bluetongue virus (BTV).
Background
Latvia confirmed outbreaks of BTV-3 in cattle to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) (see World Animal Health Information System (WAHIS) notification) on 26 October 2026. As a result, Latvia has lost its BTV-free status.
In response to the outbreak, the list of EU/EFTA countries approved to exports live ungulates to Great Britain has been updated on 29 October 2026 to apply Supplementary Guarantee ‘A’ to the entry for Latvia. This guarantee requires all live ruminants exported to GB from Latvia to be vaccinated against all serotype/s of BTV circulating in the country.
However, BTV-3 vaccines authorised for use in the EU cannot currently be used for trade due to the lack of information on the duration of immunity of the vaccine, meaning they cannot comply with the relevant part of the certificate. Consequently, imports of live ruminants from Latvia cannot be certified for export to Great Britain.
In addition to the above, the loss of BTV-free status for Latvia means that imports of ruminant germinal products from Latvia are now required to comply with the relevant testing requirements for BTV as set out in relevant health certificates and in Appendix 2 of the Import Information Note.
Contact point for enquiries
Email: imports@apha.gov.uk
Imports and EU Trade Team