At the end of August 2015, a ram located in central France (department of Allier) showed clinical signs suggestive of BTV (Bluetongue virus) infection. However, none of the other animals located in the herd showed any signs of the Bluetongue disease. Laboratory analyses identified the virus as BTV serotype 8. The viro and sero prevalence intraherd were 2.4% and 8.6% in sheep and 18.3% and 42.9% in cattle, respectively. Phylogenetic studies showed that the sequences of this strain are closely related to another BTV‐8 strain that has circulated in France in 2006–2008. The origin of the outbreak is unclear but it may be assumed that the BTV‐8 has probably circulated at very low prevalence (possibly in livestock or wildlife) since its first emergence in 2007–2008.

After the unexpected emergence of Bluetongue virus serotype 8 (BTV-8) in northern Europe in 2006, another arbovirus, Schmallenberg virus (SBV), emerged in Europe in 2011 causing a new economically important disease in ruminants. The virus, belonging to the Orthobunyavirus genus in the Bunyaviridae family, was first detected in Germany, in The Netherlands and in Belgium in 2011 and soon after in the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Denmark and Switzerland. This review describes the current knowledge on the emergence, epidemiology, clinical signs, molecular virology and diagnosis of SBV infection.

Bluetongue (BT) is a non-contagious animal disease transmitted by midges of the Culicoides genus. The etiological agent is the BT virus (BTV) that induces a variety of clinical signs in wild or domestic ruminants. BT is included in the notifiable diseases list of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) due to its health impact on domestic ruminants. A total of 27 BTV serotypes have been described and additional serotypes have recently been identified. Since the 2000s, the distribution of BTV has changed in Europe and in the Mediterranean Basin, with continuous BTV incursions involving various BTV serotypes and strains. These BTV strains, depending on their origin, have emerged and spread through various routes in the Mediterranean Basin and/or in Europe. Consequently, control measures have been put in place in France to eradicate the virus or circumscribe its spread. These measures mainly consist of assessing virus movements and the vaccination of domestic ruminants. Many vaccination campaigns were first carried out in Europe using attenuated vaccines and, in a second period, using exclusively inactivated vaccines. This review focuses on the history of the various BTV strain incursions in France since the 2000s, describing strain characteristics, their origins, and the different routes of spread in Europe and/or in the Mediterranean Basin. The control measures implemented to address this disease are also discussed. Finally, we explain the circumstances leading to the change in the BTV status of France from BTV-free in 2000 to an enzootic status since 2018.

Epizootic haemorrhagic disease (EHD) is a Culicoides-borne viral disease caused by the epizootic haemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) associated with clinical manifestations in domestic and wild ruminants, primarily white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and cattle (Bos taurus). In late September 2021, EHDV was reported in cattle farms in central/western Tunisia. It rapidly spread throughout the country with more than 200 confirmed outbreaks. We applied a combination of classical and molecular techniques to characterize the causative virus as a member of the serotype EHDV-8. This is the first evidence of EHDV- 8 circulation since 1982 when the prototype EHDV-8 strain was isolated in Australia. This work highlights the urgent need for vaccines for a range of EHDV serotypes.