Some 20,000 sheep have died this year so far on the island of Sardinia, which is home to nearly half of Italy's flock. It is another blow for farmers in a region already battered by a drought aggravated by man-made climate change -- which experts say is also fuelling the spread of bluetongue and longer outbreaks. "Normally bluetongue is a summer disease," says Stefano Cappai, an expert at Sardinia's veterinary research institute. "Back in 2000 when it affected us, the various epidemics that followed saw a peak around August. In recent years we have noticed peaks in October and November." IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES ARRANGED IN SEQUENCES