Three outbreaks of bluetongue, which is fatal to sheep, were confirmed on Friday 9 Aug 2024 by the Ministry of Agriculture, which decided to bring forward a vaccination campaign by 2 days. A 1st outbreak was
discovered on Monday [5 Aug 2024] in Marpent (Nord), a few kilometres from Belgium, where the disease was already present. Two new outbreaks, in Aisne and the Ardennes, were confirmed on Friday [9 Aug
2024]. In total, 9 regions are concerned: Hauts-de-France, Normandy, Ile-de-France, Grand Est, Centre-Val de Loire and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.

A 1st case was confirmed on Wednesday [7 Aug 2024] in a breeding farm in Marpent (North), near Maubeuge, and 22 "suspicions" had been recorded in the department on Thursday [8 Aug 2024]. Two suspected
cases were also recorded in Pas-de-Calais, which does not share a border with Belgium, the department's prefecture said on Friday [9 Aug 2024]. Bluetongue (BT) is already present in France, with serotypes 4
(in Corsica) and 8 (in mainland France), but French livestock have not developed any resistance to serotype 3, which they have never encountered.