Bluetongue in Alpacas: What Keepers Need to Know

Bluetongue is a viral disease of ruminants and camelids, spread mainly by biting midges rather than ordinary contact between animals. As gov.uk puts it plainly, "It does not affect people or food safety." Meat, milk and fibre from an affected animal are not a human hazard.

This guide draws on official animal-health guidance from the UK, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy, together with the limited peer-reviewed evidence on camelids. It separates established rules from findings based on only a few reported cases. It is a plain-language summary, not veterinary or legal advice: your vet and your animal-health authority have the final word.

Situation when we last checked, 19 September 2026. The whole of England is a bluetongue restricted zone, and one case of BTV-3 in a camelid was confirmed in England on 19 August 2026. On the day we checked, gov.uk said animals could move within England without a specific bluetongue licence or pre-movement testing. Restricted zones, case counts and licence rules change on the order of weeks, so before you act on anything time-sensitive, read the live gov.uk bluetongue latest situation page and, in your country, the equivalent official animal-disease page linked below.

What bluetongue is, in plain words#

Bluetongue is caused by a virus (bluetongue virus, or BTV) that circulates between livestock and biting midges. A midge bites an infected animal, picks up the virus, and passes it on when it bites the next one. Gov.uk lists sheep, cattle, deer, goats, llamas and alpacas among the animals it affects.

Three points are worth pinning down before anything else.

• People cannot catch it. Gov.uk, the World Organisation for Animal Health, the Swiss BLV and the Austrian ministry all say so in almost identical words.
• Ordinary contact is not the route to worry about. Biting midges spread the virus, so separating animals does not by itself protect them. Gov.uk also identifies infected semen, ova and embryos as a route; breeding material needs its own precautions.
• It has to be reported. The UK, German, Austrian and Swiss authorities all require a suspected case to be reported. In Italy, take any suspicion to your vet or the veterinary service of your ASL.

Can alpacas and llamas actually get it, and how badly?#

Yes. Available reports suggest camelids are usually less severely affected than sheep, but severe and fatal cases do occur. Evidence specific to camelids remains limited.

For BTV-3, the serotype behind the current outbreaks in north-west Europe, the best field data comes from the Netherlands in 2023. A peer-reviewed paper by van den Brink and colleagues in Veterinary Record reports BTV-3 confirmed by PCR in 15 alpaca or llama herds that season. Its summary says sheep showed the most severe signs and the highest mortality, and that in the other species there was a large variation in whether signs appeared and how severe they were.

The most systematic study is Swiss. During the BTV-8 outbreak of 2007 to 2008, Zanolari and colleagues (Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 2010) blood-tested 354 unvaccinated llamas and alpacas across Switzerland while the virus was circulating in cattle and sheep nearby. Every one of the 354 tested negative. The authors concluded that South American camelids have a low susceptibility to that serotype and do not play a major role in spreading it.

Camelids can, however, die from bluetongue. Meyer and colleagues (2009, Emerging Infectious Diseases) documented two llamas on a farm of 20 in France that fell ill during a BTV-1 outbreak: they stopped eating and became lethargic, then went into acute respiratory distress, and both died within 24 hours of the breathing signs appearing. On a second farm, also in southwestern France, 7 of 9 llamas tested positive for BTV-1 with no clinical signs at all. Together, these reports show wide variation, from infection without signs to rapid, fatal disease. A 2010 case report by Ortega and colleagues, titled "Fatal Bluetongue Virus Infection in an Alpaca (Vicugna pacos) in California", documents another fatal case.

Not all bluetongue is the same: serotypes#

"Bluetongue" is really a family of viruses. Austria's AGES counts 36 known types, called serotypes and written BTV-1, BTV-3 and so on. They differ in how ill they make animals, and they differ in law: the EU's animal-health rules list "infection with bluetongue virus (serotypes 1-24)", and that listing names the camel family (Camelidae) among the species it covers.

Two things follow for you as a keeper:

• A vaccine covers one type. The World Organisation for Animal Health is blunt about it: "It is essential to use a vaccine designed to provide protection against the specific strain (or strains) of virus of concern in a particular area." A BTV-8 vaccine tells you nothing about BTV-3.
• Evidence from one type does not carry over. The reassuring Swiss study above was BTV-8. What is circulating now is mostly BTV-3, and for that type nobody has yet published how infected camelids fared.

New types still arrive. In 2025 Italy's IZS identified BTV-5 in two sheep in Sardinia, the first detection of that serotype in Europe. So "which serotype, this season?" is a good first question for your vet.

What to watch for#

This is where the official pages have a gap. Gov.uk names alpacas and llamas as susceptible species, but the clinical signs it then describes are the classic sheep and cattle picture. The official pages we read for Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy are no different: none gives a list of signs for alpacas or llamas.

The detailed camelid report from Meyer 2009 describes loss of appetite and lethargy, then acute respiratory distress with oedema, in two llamas. On the same farm, two days earlier, a female had aborted a 10-month fetus with no other signs, and viral RNA was found in the fetus. It is not a complete clinical checklist. The practical guidance is:

• In midge season, any sudden illness in your herd that you cannot explain is worth a phone call to your vet.
• Do not wait to see if it improves. Alpacas hide illness well.
• If bluetongue is suspected, it has to be reported. Your vet can do that with you, or you can ring the authority directly. The numbers are below.

What to do if you suspect it#

If you suspect bluetongue, contact your vet or animal-health authority promptly and pause animal movements while you get instructions. The country blocks below give the reporting contacts. The legal requirements vary by country; for Italy, ask your ASL which measures apply to your camelids.

Do not sell, gift or transport animals until the authority has been in touch, and do not treat "on your own" with over-the-counter remedies. Your vet and the authority decide what testing or clinical assessment is needed. For the paperwork side of any treatment, our alpaca medication records guide explains how to log a vaccination or treatment with a batch number, a date and a withdrawal period.

Where you live#

Rules and reporting routes are country-specific. In every case, the live official page is authoritative, not this article.

United Kingdom#

Gov.uk has a page written specifically for camelid keepers in England (last updated 25 March 2025 when we read it): if you suspect it you must report it to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and not move animals. Report lines, from gov.uk's main bluetongue page: England 03000 200 301, Wales 03003 038 268, Scotland 03000 600 704.

The one detail worth reading twice: to move a camelid out of a restricted zone, each animal must be individually identified with an APHA herd mark and ear tags. Neck tags and microchips alone are not accepted for this purpose, and some movement licences require testing before and after the move. So if your alpacas are only microchipped and you plan to sell or show outside a restricted zone, sort out the ear tags first. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland set their own rules, so check with your own administration before moving animals there.

Live pages: gov.uk bluetongue camelid guidance and latest situation.

Germany#

Bluetongue (Blauzungenkrankheit) is meldepflichtig (notifiable) in Germany. If you suspect it, contact the official vet (Amtstierarzt) at your local Veterinäramt. Lower Saxony's veterinary portal, as one example, still recommended vaccinating susceptible ruminants against BTV-3 for 2026 when we read it. The German pages we read do not mention alpacas or llamas in their description of the disease, so ask your Veterinäramt what applies to camelids where you live.

Live page: Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Bluetongue Disease.

Austria#

Austria's consumer-health ministry page says keepers must report every suspicion to the competent authority, the official vet (Amtstierarzt), and that there is no infection risk for people. It lists camelids among the affected animals, and AGES, the federal food-safety agency, names "Kamelartige (z. B. Alpaka)" as hosts. The ministry recommends vaccination for susceptible animals in general terms. Whether that should include your alpacas is a question for your vet. For the wider registration picture, see keeping alpacas in Austria.

Live page: AGES, Blauzungenkrankheit.

Switzerland#

The federal veterinary office (BLV) classes bluetongue as a "zu bekämpfende Tierseuche", a disease that must be controlled. It describes it as a viral disease of ruminants and camelids, states that the virus does not pass directly from animal to animal (the midge is the carrier; gov.uk separately flags semen, ova and embryos, as noted above), and reports that Swiss authorities have been detecting BTV-8 and BTV-3 cases since the end of August 2024. If you suspect it, call your vet, who reports to the cantonal veterinary office. For the wider picture including microchip duties, see alpacas in Switzerland.

Live page: BLV, Blauzungenkrankheit (BT).

Italy#

In Italy the official name is febbre catarrale degli ovini, usually just called Blue tongue, and the national reference centre at IZS Teramo runs a dedicated information system for it. The veterinary institute for the Venezie region (IZSVe) states that it cannot be passed to people and poses no food-safety problem. The Italian pages we read describe the disease in ruminants, with sheep hit hardest, and do not mention alpacas or llamas at all. So if you keep camelids in Italy and see something that worries you, ring your vet or the veterinary service of your local ASL and ask.

Live pages: IZSVe, Bluetongue and the national Blue tongue information system.

Vaccination decisions#

Bluetongue vaccination is not a fixed item in a routine annual alpaca vaccination schedule, which is why our alpaca vaccination schedule guide has no bluetongue block. It is a risk-based decision that changes with the serotype, country, season and available products. Discuss it with your vet using the current official guidance.

What current sources say:

• In the UK, gov.uk's vaccine page listed three authorised BTV-3 vaccines when we checked on 19 September 2026: Bluevac-3, BULTAVO 3 and Syvazul BTV 3. For keepers, it requires vaccination reporting within 3 days in England, Wales and Scotland (changed from 48 hours on 15 September 2026), and within five working days in Northern Ireland. It describes the products for sheep and cattle; your vet must decide whether and how to use them in camelids. Check the live page before vaccinating.
• In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the authorities recommend vaccinating susceptible animals, written with cattle and sheep in mind. Ask your vet or veterinary office what they advise for camelids this season.
• In Italy, ask your vet or ASL which serotypes matter in your region and whether vaccination makes sense for your animals.
• There is published research on camelids and these vaccines: the Swiss group behind the survey above also published "Humoral response to 2 inactivated bluetongue virus serotype-8 vaccines in South American camelids" in 2010. It is one for your vet to read, not a reason to vaccinate on your own.

Doses, intervals and age of first vaccination change with the product and the season. Ask your vet, and record the batch number and date the moment the vaccine goes in.

Midge protection, kept realistic#

Because midges can carry bluetongue between animals and holdings, separation alone cannot prevent its spread, and a closed herd is not protected just by being closed. Follow your vet's isolation advice for any sick animal. Official guidance focuses on vaccination, movement rules and prompt reporting; it does not provide a tested camelid-specific midge-control protocol. Ask your vet which exposure-reduction measures are realistic for your holding.

Why dated records help#

The steady thread here is that a written date matters. When did you vaccinate? Which batch? Which alpaca left the holding under which licence?

That is the job we built AlpacaKeep for: a herd register with dated movements, vaccination records with product and batch number, and a history for each animal that you can show a vet or an inspector. Signups are not open yet. Join the early-access list and we will tell you the day you can move in.

Sources & Further Reading#

• [1] gov.uk: Bluetongue: how to spot and report the disease. Susceptible species, midge transmission, "does not affect people or food safety".
• [2] gov.uk: Bluetongue: camelid guidance. Reporting to APHA, movement licence, individual ID with APHA herd mark and ear tags.
• [3] gov.uk: Bluetongue: latest situation. Current zones, case counts and the APHA report lines.
• [4] gov.uk: Bluetongue serotype 3 (BTV-3) vaccination. Authorised vaccines and country-specific reporting requirements.
• [5] Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut: Bluetongue Disease (EN).
• [6] Niedersachsen Tierseucheninfo: Blauzungenkrankheit.
• [7] AGES: Blauzungenkrankheit.
• [8] Verbrauchergesundheit BMSGPK: Blauzungenkrankheit.
• [9] BLV: Blauzungenkrankheit (BT).
• [10] IZSVe: Bluetongue.
• [11] WOAH: Bluetongue disease portal.
• [12] Zanolari P et al. (2010). Serological Survey of Bluetongue Virus Serotype-8 Infection in South American Camelids in Switzerland (2007-2008). Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine 24(2), 426 to 430.
• [13] Meyer G et al. (2009). Lethal Bluetongue Virus Serotype 1 Infection in Llamas. Emerging Infectious Diseases 15(4), 608 to 610.
• [14] van den Brink KMJA et al. (2024). Bluetongue virus serotype 3 in ruminants in the Netherlands: Clinical signs, seroprevalence and pathological findings. Veterinary Record.
• [15] Ortega J et al. (2010). Fatal Bluetongue Virus Infection in an Alpaca (Vicugna pacos) in California. Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation 22(1), 134 to 136.
• [16] Zanolari P et al. (2010). Humoral response to 2 inactivated bluetongue virus serotype-8 vaccines in South American camelids. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine 24(4), 956 to 959.
• [17] IZS Teramo: Sistema Informativo Nazionale Blue tongue.
• [18] European Union: Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1882. Lists "Infection with bluetongue virus (serotypes 1-24)", categories C+D+E, with Camelidae among the listed species.
• [19] Veterinaria Italiana (IZS): Bluetongue in Italy, July 2024 to December 2025. BTV-3 and BTV-8 outbreaks, remaining BTV-4 and BTV-1 circulation.
• [20] Veterinaria Italiana (IZS): First detection of BTV-5 in Europe, Sardinia 2025.