Bluetongue virus cases soar among Europe livestock

Bluetongue virus cases have shot up in several European countries, data gathered by AFP showed, as farmers are worrying about consequences for sheep and cattle.

Bluetongue is a non-contagious, insect-borne viral disease that affects ruminants such as sheep and cows but not pigs or horses. It is difficult to control once it takes hold.

The first outbreak of BTV-3 was registered in the Netherlands in September 2023, before spreading to Belgium, Germany, and Britain.

But the number of outbreaks of the disease, which is transmitted by midges, has exploded amongst Europe's livestock in recent weeks.

The Netherlands on Monday, Aug. 12 recorded 2,909 infected areas, according to the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority. That is 650 more than the week before, Dutch media reported.

Meanwhile, Germany confirmed there were 1,885 clusters on Aug. 8, according to the Friedrich Loeffler Institute (FLI), its top animal disease research centre. During the whole of 2023, the country had just 23 outbreaks.

The French animal epidemic monitoring platform ESA in a report published on Tuesday, Aug. 13 said that 515 cases had been detected in Belgium between June 1 and Aug. 11, with 436 in just a week.

The virus is not a risk to humans, but in animals it causes high fevers, mouth ulcers, and swollen heads.

France, Luxembourg and Denmark detected their first cases in August, the World Animal Health Organisation noted in a report.

BTV-3 is particularly deadly for sheep but can also cause a significant drop in milk production in cows, the FLI said—though unlike avian influenza, infected animals do not need to be slaughtered.

Symptoms also include excessive salivation, the swelling of lips, tongue, and jaw, and the loss of offspring for pregnant animals, in proportions varying from farm to farm.

While other strains of the disease—like 4 and 8—have existed in Europe for years, and vaccines have been found, they are not available in sufficient quantities to address the epidemic.

France has launched a vaccination campaign "to reduce dissemination as fast as possible," Stephan Zientara of the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety told AFP, starting this week. (AFP)