Bluetongue virus has been identified in a blood sample of an animal from a farm in Co Monaghan which was slaughtered in November 2025.
The Department of Agriculture has undertaken the testing of cattle blood samples, taken for other disease detection purposes, in an aim to grasp in which geographic areas the virus may be present.
The blood samples which have been tested originate as far back as September 2025, when modelling suggests that animals were first infected with bluetongue.
The Department now reports that this new positive test brings the total number of herds in which bluetongue has been found so far to 12.
The counties where the virus has been detected to date are Wexford, Wicklow, Laois, Louth and Monaghan.