Austria reports bluetongue outbreaks on cattle farms

PARIS (Reuters) -Austria has reported two outbreaks of bluetongue disease on cattle farms, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) said on Monday, including one with the virus that has been spreading fast in northern Europe.

Bluetongue can be deadly for domestic ruminants such as sheep, cattle and goats. A new variant of the disease, the BTV3 virus, has been circulating in northern Europe since late last year, leading to widespread vaccination campaigns in affected countries, including France.

Austria reported an outbreak of BTV3 on a farm of 19 animals in the western town of Bregenz, the WOAH said, citing Austrian authorities.

It also reported an outbreak of the older BTV4 virus on a cattle farm of 56 animals in Leoben in the centre of the country.

Sweden has also confirmed two outbreaks of BTV3 last week, the WOAH said on Monday.

(Reporting by Sybille de La HamaideEditing by David Goodman and Tomasz Janowski)