Climate Fact: Livestock Losses
In addition to causing a swelling of the mouth that can make the tongue appear blue, the livestock virus commonly known as Bluetongue either kills or weakens the animals that it infects. This virus was traditionally considered an African disease and outbreaks in Europe’s southern fringes were only occasional. Since 1998, rising temperatures in Europe have enabled the virus to persist during the Continent’s winters and have encouraged a range expansion of the species of fly that spreads the virus. Outbreaks have now been documented in 12 European countries. In the Netherlands, over 400 farms have been affected and following an outbreak in Germany, some meat markets saw their supplies drop by over one-third.
Season: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall
(Sources: “Climate Change Pushes Diseases North.” Reuters 9 March 2007. Accessed Online 9 March 2007 <http://uk.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUKL0920787420070309?pageNumber=2> and Purse B.V. et al. “Climate Change and the Recent Emergence of Bluetongue in Europe.” Nature Reviews Microbiology, February 2005: Pages 171-181. and World Organization for Animal Health. 2006. Animal Diseases Data: Bluetongue. 9 March 2007 <http://www.oie.int/eng/maladies/fiches/a_A090.htm>)
