France has reported an outbreak of bluetongue disease on a farm near the border with Belgium, Reuters reported last week, citing the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).
The disease, carried by insects, can be fatal to ruminant farm animals such as sheep, cattle and goats. The virus has been circulating in the Netherlands, northern Belgium and western Germany since the end of last year.
The outbreak, which infected a sheep on a farm in the town of Marpent in the Haut-de-France region, was detected on July 30 and confirmed on August 5, WOAH said in a report based on information provided by French authorities.
France had expected the disease to spread after recent reports of several outbreaks in southern Belgium.
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Cattle purchase prices quite stable, but limited business activity
Vaccination campaign in France
The French agriculture ministry said last week it was introducing a regulated zone around the latest outbreak in Belgium and launching a voluntary vaccination campaign to limit the impact of the disease.
600,000 doses of sheep vaccine have been purchased from Germany's Boehringer Ingelheim and 4 million vaccines from Spain's CZ Vaccines. They will be distributed to farmers for free.
