But I think before we get to there, we probably need to go back a few years, [laughs] don't we, Jonathan? Back to 2023, but it is relevant for why we are where we are now.

Yeah, so basically 2023, late summer, early autumn, there was surveillance being done in the southeast and the south coast of England because bluetongue was rife in the Netherlands, Germany, Northern Europe, and we were concerned that it would blow over.

So bluetongue is, uh, is spread by midges, the culicoides midge, and these midges can get caught on the wind and blown tens, hundreds of miles.

Um, so through surveillance, they detected a handful of animals infected in the late summer, autumn in Norfolk, Suffolk, and Kent, and those animals were euthanized and all of the animals on the farm were then tested as well, and neighboring farms at three-kilometer radius were tested, and there was a whole movement restriction zone put in place.

The reason those was culled at that point was because we didn't want those animals then spreading the virus back into UK midges, and we managed to contain it and it didn't overwinter.

It then blew over again in 2024, but about six weeks earlier, which then allowed, because it was still warm, it allowed it to replicate within sheep and cattle in the southeast, again, Norfolk, Suffolk, Kent.

It then got into UK midges, which then got infected, replicated the disease, and then they spread a bit further and spread a bit fur- a bit further.

They're just doing their job.

Would you describe the differences maybe you're seeing between cattle and sheep for people? Is it mostly sheep still?

Yeah, I think probably what's worth me doing is sort of saying how we've got here, like going back a couple of years, really.

So the first cases we had in the UK came over in the autumn of 2023 or very late summer.

And there were some individual cases in Norfolk, Suffolk, Kent, which, for those that don't know, is a very southeast corner of England.

It's very close to the Netherlands.

And it basically these plumes of midges, as Richard described previously, they can get blown miles across the sea.

And they were found through surveillance.

been

And do they have a specific place of biting?

No, no.

So any, basically any bite anywhere, if that midge is infectious, infected with virus and has then replicated the virus in its salivary glands, it will be able to pass on that virus to an animal.

So an infected midgie definitely will infect a cow or a sheep or anything.

So the disease transmission from a midge to an animal is basically 100%.

It's incredibly effective.

But the back way, so an infected cow or sheep infecting a midge to then pass it on is actually incredibly ineffective, like well less than 0.00 something percent.

Can I ask how, is it because

We wanna know it all.

Well, I, uh...

Well, I grew up, like, skateboarding and, uh, I learned to ride a skateboard when I was, like, eight years old.

Um, and, uh, I, I played sports too my whole life.

Um, you know, I played soccer as a kid.

I played, um, baseball, T-ball when I was five.

Uh, I wrestled in high school.

Yeah.