Second outbreak of new type of bluetongue detected in France

A new outbreak of bluetongue (BT) serotype 3, which can be fatal for sheep, has been confirmed in the Ardennes, the second recorded in France, the prefecture announced on Friday, August 9. This outbreak was identified by the ANSES animal health laboratory in a sheep farm in the village of Vireux-Wallerand, a few kilometers from the border with Belgium. “Sixteen other farms are likely to be affected” in the Ardennes, specifies the prefecture.Analyses are underway.”

FCO, also known as “blue tongue disease”mainly affects sheep, cattle and, more rarely, deer. It is not transmissible to humans. Symptoms include fever, respiratory problems, a hanging tongue or even the loss of pregnant young. It passes from animal to animal via biting insects, culicoides midges. It weakens animals, causes economic losses and disrupts international trade.

A first case was confirmed on Wednesday in a breeding farm in Marpent (North), near Maubeuge, and 22 “suspicions” had been recorded in the department on Thursday. Two suspected cases were also recorded in Pas-de-Calais, which does not share a border with Belgium, the department’s prefecture said on Friday. Bluetongue (BT) is already present in France, with serotypes 4 (in Corsica) and 8 (in mainland France), but French livestock have not developed any resistance to serotype 3, which they have never encountered.