The animal epidemic caused by bluetongue disease is spreading in Europe

Recently, the animal epidemic caused by bluetongue disease has shown a spreading trend in Europe, bringing a serious impact on the local animal husbandry industry.

The Netherlands is a "hard-hit area" of this epidemic. According to notifications from Dutch government departments, as of August 27, nearly 1,200 farms have had bluetongue disease outbreaks, tripling in three weeks. The number of registered cases has reached 6,384, and infected cases have been found in all 12 domestic provinces, with a total of more than 5,000 cases. Compared with only about 100 locations reporting cases a month ago, the growth rate is astonishing.

The epidemic situation in Germany is also not optimistic. Official data shows that as of August 22, 3,212 cases of bluetongue disease have been recorded, while there were only 23 cases throughout last year.

The French agricultural department is also actively responding to the surge in cases. The number of cases quadrupled in eight days. The Luxembourg authorities notified on August 28 that the number of infected cases has increased to nearly 500, affecting nearly 250 farms.

Bluetongue disease is an animal infectious disease caused by the bluetongue virus. The virus is transmitted by blood-sucking insects such as Aedes mosquitoes. Susceptible animals are mainly ruminants such as sheep and cattle. Infected animals will show symptoms such as high fever, blue tongue, swollen chin, oral ulcers, bleeding and even miscarriage in pregnant animals. At present, bluetongue virus has not been found to be infectious to humans.

To control the epidemic, governments and relevant institutions of various countries have taken actions. France has launched vaccination work and provided 6.4 million doses of vaccines for free; the Luxembourg Veterinary and Food Administration has also organized vaccination against bluetongue disease and has delivered 240,000 doses of vaccines.

The spread of this bluetongue disease epidemic in Europe has attracted widespread attention from the international community. It not only poses a serious threat to the animal husbandry economy of European countries but also sounds an alarm for global animal disease prevention and control. In the future, how to further strengthen epidemic monitoring and prevention and control, prevent the spread of the epidemic, and reduce the impact on animal husbandry will be an important challenge for European countries. At the same time, this also reminds other countries and regions to strengthen the prevention of animal diseases and ensure the healthy development of animal husbandry and public health safety.