2023-05-22 15:51:00
Epizootic haemorrhagic disease (EHD) has been identified in cattle for the first time in Europe. That says the French food agency Anses. Like bluetongue, the disease is transmitted by midges. The disease was first found in Europe in October 2022 in Sardinia and has affected several herds in Italy and Spain, Vilt.be reports.
EHD, first discovered in 1955 in the United States, primarily affects white-tailed deer and cattle. The virus has since spread to Asia, Australia and Africa. Until last year, no cases had been reported in Europe.
In cattle, this potentially fatal disease causes fever, anorexia, lameness and respiratory distress. Small ruminants can also carry the virus, but no symptomatic cases have been reported so far. It cannot be transmitted to humans.
mosquitoes
The virus is transmitted by mosquitoes of the genus Culicoides. ‘Fifteen years ago we never imagined that the disease would one day arrive in Europe. The spread is a direct result of climate change, which allows the mosquitoes to survive in our regions,” said Stéphan Zientara, director of the joint research unit of Virology of Anses, Inrae and the Alfort National Veterinary School.
EHD was not only found in Sardinia at the end of 2022, but also in Andalusia and Sicily shortly afterwards. “While it is possible that the virus was introduced through the transport of infected livestock, the most likely hypothesis is that mosquitoes were transported by wind across the Mediterranean. This would explain the simultaneous occurrence of the disease in several places in southern Europe’, continues Zientara. “The virus is identical to a virus discovered in Tunisia in 2021.”
Since there is no vaccine available against this serotype, manufacturers are considering developing a suitable vaccine. As long as that is not the case, attempts can be made to test the animals and to ban the transport of ruminants from infected areas. According to Zientara, this measure is still relatively ineffective.
In addition, it is unclear whether European deer are susceptible to the disease. One infected deer has been found in Sardinia, it is still too early to say whether this is an isolated case. A surveillance system has been set up in France to analyze any suspected animal, including wild animals.
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