Mass vaccination lasting at least 5 years only effective measure to eradicate bluetongue: EFSA

BRUSSELS, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) said on Wednesday that mass vaccination programs lasting at least five years, combined with continuous surveillance systems, would be the only effective measure to eradicate bluetongue in Europe.

Bluetongue is a vector-borne viral disease of ruminants, mainly sheep and less frequently cattle.

At the request of European Commission, experts from the EFSA reviewed the control measures for bluetongue and options for safe trade of animals.

Later, EFSA said that it would classify different types of bluetongue according to their characteristics by the end of June 2017, as they believe this would help identify specific protection and control measures.