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The mechanisms underlying virus emergence are rarely well understood, making the appearance of outbreaks largely unpredictable. Bluetongue virus serotype 8 (BTV-8), an arthropod-borne virus of ruminants, emerged in livestock in northern Europe in 2006, spreading to most European countries by 2009 and causing losses of billions of euros. Although the outbreak was successfully controlled through vaccination by early 2010, puzzlingly, a closely related BTV-8 strain re-emerged in France in 2015, triggering a second outbreak that is still ongoing. The origin of this virus and the mechanisms underlying its re-emergence are unknown. Here, we performed phylogenetic analyses of 164 whole BTV-8 genomes sampled throughout the two outbreaks. We demonstrate consistent clock-like virus evolution during both epizootics but found negligible evolutionary change between them. We estimate that the ancestor of the second outbreak dates from the height of the first outbreak in 2008. This implies that the virus had not been replicating for multiple years prior to its re-emergence in 2015. Given the absence of any known natural mechanism that could explain BTV-8 persistence over this long period without replication, we hypothesise that the second outbreak could have been initiated by accidental exposure of livestock to frozen material contaminated with virus from approximately 2008. Our work highlights new targets for pathogen surveillance programmes in livestock and illustrates the power of genomic epidemiology to identify pathways of infectious disease emergence. Disease epidemics can be man-made: Molecular clocks and genomic data for an economically important livestock virus reveal that a current European outbreak may have been caused by accidental release, rather than natural transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The outbreak of bluetongue virus (BTV) serotype 8 (BTV‐8) during 2006–2009 in Europe was the most costly epidemic of the virus in recorded history. In 2015, a BTV‐8 strain re‐emerged in France which has continued to circulate since then. To examine anecdotal reports of reduced pathogenicity and transmission efficiency, we investigated the infection kinetics of a 2007 UK BTV‐8 strain alongside the re‐emerging BTV‐8 strain isolated from France in 2017. Two groups of eight BTV‐naïve British mule sheep were inoculated with 5.75 log10TCID50/ml of either BTV‐8 strain. BTV RNA was detected by 2 dpi in both groups with peak viraemia occurring between 5–9 dpi. A significantly greater amount of BTV RNA was detected in sheep infected with the 2007 strain (6.0–8.8 log10 genome copies/ml) than the re‐emerging BTV‐8 strain (2.9–7.9 log10 genome copies/ml). All infected sheep developed BTV‐specific antibodies by 9 dpi. BTV was isolated from 2 dpi to 12 dpi for 2007 BTV‐8‐inoculated sheep and from 5 to 10 dpi for sheep inoculated with the remerging BTV‐8. In Culicoides sonorensis feeding on the sheep over the period 7–12 dpi, vector competence was significantly higher for the 2007 strain than the re‐emerging strain. Both the proportion of animals showing moderate (as opposed to mild or no) clinical disease (6/8 vs. 1/8) and the overall clinical scores (median 5.25 vs. 3) were significantly higher in sheep infected with the 2007 strain, compared to those infected with the re‐emerging strain. However, one sheep infected with the re‐emerging strain was euthanized at 16 dpi having developed severe lameness. This highlights the potential of the re‐emerging BTV‐8 to still cause illness in naïve ruminants with concurrent costs to the livestock industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper provides the sedimentological, palaeontological and biostratigraphical characteristics of a newly discovered lignite-bearing sedimentary succession in western France. The lignitic bed, which is reminiscent of some Wealden facies in southern England, is located in Angeac in the Charentes region. The plant remains occur as three-dimensionally preserved mesofossils (cuticles, charred ferns and seeds, cones and twigs) and larger pieces of wood. The deposits contain variable amounts of such material and at one horizon in particular, an outstanding accumulation of dinosaur teeth and bones. Among the vertebrate remains are the longest sauropod femur (ca. 220cm) yet found and bones representing an ornithomimosaur herd of at least eight individuals. The palynomorph content of the clay associated with the bones and lignitic material indicates a Hauterivian–Barremian age. The abundance in the fossil assemblage of freshwater unionoid bivalves, some preserved in life position, the presence of freshwater algae, and the scarcity of brackish or marine species indicate that the depositional environment was a swamp only very occasionally connected to the sea. The forest bordering the swamp was dominated by cheirolepidiaceous trees co-occurring with a diverse assemblage of ferns. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article focuses on the rescue efforts of pacifist pastor André Pascal Trocmé and his wife Magda in the French Vivarais-Lignon plateau during the World War II. It refers to the book "Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed," by Philip Hallie and the documentary film "Weapons of the Spirit," directed by Pierre Sauvage which cover the motivation and violence during the said period. It offers a brief history behind the rescue work of the couple wherein it discusses the life of Trocmé.

Abstract: During the incursion of bluetongue virus (BTV) serotype 8 in France in 2007, an increase in the number of abortions in cattle was observed, but the cause was not clearly established. A survey of all the reported cases of abortion in cattle from November 2008 to April 2009 was conducted in the Nièvre district (Burgundy region) to determine the percentage of abortions as a result of BTV-8 and to study factors that could have played a role in BTV-8 transplacental transmission. BTV-8 was present in 16% of the fetuses or newborn calves that died within 48 h, from 780 dams. Dams inseminated before the BTV epizootic peak recorded from July to September 2008 were more likely to have BTV-positive abortions (OR=5.7, P<0.001) and those vaccinated in May or June 2008 were less likely to have BTV-positive abortions (OR=0.3, P=0.01 and OR=0.4, P=0.001, respectively). The gestational month was not a predictor of BTV abortion. In blood or spleen, fetuses/calves from RT-PCR-positive dams had significantly higher RNA concentrations than fetuses/calves from RT-PCR-negative dams. Of the 128 dams that had BTV-positive fetuses or calves, 60% were RT-PCR-negative. BTV-8-positive fetuses/calves were significantly more frequent (n=42 vs n=21, P=0.082) amongst those showing clinical signs or lesions suggestive of cerebral damage. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We describe here the palynological content from the lower Cenomanian plant-rich site of Jaunay-Clan (Vienne, western France), a site that previously yielded exceptional leaf impressions. Altogether, 184 species of palynomorphs have been identified, and two palynological intervals were recognized in the sedimentary sequence. The lower interval is characterized by the taxonomical and numerical dominance of spores of Gleicheniaceae, Cyatheales, and Anemiaceae, while the upper interval is characterized by an abrupt increase in the abundance of Classopollis and the appearance of dinocysts. This shift in the palynological composition, coupled with paleobotanical observations, is interpreted as reflecting a transition from a calm freshwater environment, with occasional droughts to an environment more open to very occasional marine inputs, such as an inner lagoon. The association of Tehamadinium coummia , Trichodinium spinosum, Tricolpites nemejcii , Retitricolporites decorosus , and Microreticulatiporites sacalii , coupled with the absence of Normapolles pollen grains, suggests that the Jaunay-Clan assemblage is early Cenomanian in age, corroborating the previous determination based on lithological and paleontological proxies. However, the Jaunay-Clan palynoflora is considered to be slightly younger than the numerous earliest Cenomanian assemblages described from Charente-Maritime, owing to its resemblance with mid-lower Cenomanian palynofloras from western France. The paleoflora and palynoflora from Jaunay-Clan are similar to other assemblages found in the upper Albian of Spain (Teruel Province), and in the Cenomanian of France and Czech Republic (Peruc-Korycany Formation, La Buzinie, Archingeay). The combined Jaunay-Clan palynoflora and paleoflora is considered to be the most diversified Cenomanian paleobotanical-palynological assemblage described so far in Western Europe. • We present the palynological content of the plant-bearing locality of Jaunay-Clan, western France. • The assemblage includes 184 species of megaspores, miospores, pollen grains, algae, and dinocysts. • The age of deposition is shown to be mid-early Cenomanian. • Palynological and sedimentary data indicate deposition during the early Cenomanian world-wide transgression. • This assemblage is the most diversified Cenomanian association of micro and macro floral remains from Western Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]