There has been an increase in the number of new cases of bluetongue in France in recent weeks. This may be a repeat of the seasonal, sharp increase in new cases seen there last autumn – see graph.

One hundred new cases were reported by the French veterinary authorities to the OIE for September 2017, up from 83 new cases in September 2016. So far, 262 new cases have been reported for October, up from 231 cases in October 2016. It is possible that further new cases will be reported this month.

The current outbreak of serum 8 type bluetongue began in September 2015. It has led to restrictions on export of live French cattle to non-EU markets.

The escalation in new cases there last autumn and winter prompted the Department of Agriculture here to issue a warning to farmers here importing pedigree cattle from France about the importance of disease control.

It warned that there was evidence that animals were being transported from France to Ireland too soon after vaccination for full resistance to the disease to have developed.

According to the Department, the disease could be introduced here by importing an animal harbouring the disease, by infected vectors (ie flying midges) or by infected semen. The bluetongue vector season in Ireland is likely to be between late April and early December, it says.