The French Ministry of Agriculture has confirmed a case of Bluetongue disease on a farm in the Allier region in central France.

This is the first case of the virus in the EU since 2011. All farms in the 150km zone around the area are now undergoing active surveillance and movement restrictions are in place. The French government is in the process of making 1.3m doses of bluetongue vaccine available to livestock farmers, to prevent spread of the disease, as soon as possible.

Sheep on the farm in question first showed signs of Bluetongue on 21 August this year. Test results have shown that 27 out of 147 cattle and five out of 175 sheep tested positive for the deadly virus.

A further seven farms within a 2km radius of the initial case also have animals that tested positive.

The origin and spread of the disease is yet to be established.

Bluetongue is a notifiable disease and should be reported to the local DVO immediatly. Symptoms include profuse nasal discharge, conjunctivitis, coronitis, swollen face and swelling and crusting of the teats.