France Reports Outbreak of "Bluetongue" Disease Near Its Border with Belgium

The World Organisation for Animal Health announced on Wednesday that France reported the emergence of "bluetongue" disease on a farm near the Belgian border. Bluetongue disease, which is spread by insects, can be fatal to ruminant animals such as sheep, cows, and goats. The disease has been spreading in the Netherlands, northern Belgium, and western Germany since late last year. The World Organisation for Animal Health clarified in a report based on information provided by French authorities that the outbreak, which affected sheep on a farm in a town in the Hauts-de-France region, was detected on July 30. The confirmation was reported on August 5. France had expected the disease to spread following several recent outbreaks detected in southern Belgium. Last week, the French Ministry of Agriculture stated that it imposed a quarantine zone around the latest outbreak in Belgium, noting that it has launched a voluntary vaccination campaign to mitigate the disease's impact. Paris purchased 600,000 doses to vaccinate sheep from the German company Boehringer Ingelheim and four million from the Spanish company CZ Vaccines, which will be distributed free of charge to farmers. Bluetongue fever in sheep is considered non-contagious and is caused by a virus. This disease primarily affects sheep, goats, cattle, camels, and wild ruminants, and generally, symptoms appear only in sheep. Mosquitoes are one of the vectors for transmitting the infection among ruminants.