Financial consequences of the Dutch bluetongue serotype 8 epidemics of 2006 and 2007

This study calculates the financial consequences of the bluetongue serotype 8 (BTV8) epidemics of 2006 and 2007 in the Netherlands. We constructed a deterministic economic model that is compatible with the Dutch livestock production systems for cattle, sheep and goats. Two hundred cattle farms and 270 sheep farms were infected with BTV8 in the epidemic of 2006, whereas 30,417 cattle farms, 45,022 sheep farms and 35,278 goat farms were estimated to be infected in the epidemic of 2007. The net costs (costs minus benefits) of the BTV8 epidemic of 2006 (BT2006) was estimated at 32.4 million Euros. The net costs of the BTV8 epidemic of 2007 (BT2007) was valued at 164–175 million Euros, depending on the mortality and morbidity rates for cattle used. The losses account for 2%, 10% and 11% of the gross value of the primary production within Dutch pasture-based livestock farming that equals 1.6 billion Euros. Control measures accounted for 91% of the net costs of the BT2006, while diagnostic costs represented 7%. By contrast, for the BT2007 92% of the net costs were in the form of production losses and veterinary treatment fees, while only 6% were related to control measures. Furthermore, the control costs dropped from 29,630 in BT2006 to 10,990 in BT2007 mainly due to the costly indoor housing that was not obligatory during the BT2007 epidemic. The cattle sector suffered 88% and 85% of the net costs for the BT2006 and BT2007, respectively; the highest of all sectors.