The Blue Tongue disease eventually has materialised in Northern Ireland.
Some would say it was bound to happen. Now the South is on alert to try and prevent the spread of Blue Tongue to its herds.
What are the chances of prevention? Probably very slim. Controlling midge migration is a bit like herding cats � impossible.
The latest news from the UK is that they're expecting large numbers of infection if the spread is anything like what the continent has experienced.
"With the sort of increase in infection we've seen in northern Europe, we'd be expecting thousands of farms to be infected this year," said Professor Philip Mellor, from the Institute for Animal Research.
The biblical plagues metaphor continues apace!
Apparently the danger season for the disease in the UK begins in April - we can be sure that we'll hear a lot more about Blue Tongue in the months to come.
