Bluetongue (BT), also called bluetongue disease (TB), is a viral disease that affects domestic (sheep, cows, goats) and wild ruminants.
By 22 August, 190 outbreaks had been reported in the following departments: Aisne, Ardennes, Haute-Marne, Marne, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse, Moselle, Nord, Oise, Pas-de-Calais. The number of homes in France has more than quadrupled in eight days.
This new serotype, first detected in the Netherlands, was reported in July in Belgium, near the French border. The spread of FCO is also accelerating in Europe, where Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium are also severely affected.
A targeted vaccination campaign was launched on 12 August. According to the National Federation of Sheep (FNO), this start has started too late.
Vaccination doses are directed to the highest risk regions
In the Ardennes, farmer Bruno Miser expressed his anger to AFP: “We have been asking for vaccines since October!” He has been vaccinating a flock that is already partially sick for two days and expects to “pick up carcasses by the shovelful” in the coming days. “We should now expand the vaccination area and order around 2 million additional doses” for sheep, estimates Emmanuel Fontaine, while the State plans to distribute 1.1 million doses for sheep and 5.3 million for cattle, focusing on the most vulnerable regions. risk, north of the Loire, where animal movements are subject to restrictions.
The new serotype 3 of the virus was first detected in Europe in September 2023, in the Netherlands, before being detected in Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom in the following months. The first cases were confirmed in early August in France, Luxembourg and Denmark.
Faced with the acceleration of the spread, the government says it is “listening to the concerns of breeders” and “not excluding anything”, without committing to placing new orders for vaccines for the moment.
The Ministry of Agriculture acknowledges the “slowness” of the first phase of vaccine rollout, but says the vaccination campaign began “before the arrival of the first cases” in France.
Bluetongue causes fever, respiratory problems, hanging tongue or even the loss of pregnant calves and sometimes the death of animals, in varying proportions from one farm to another. Its detection does not lead to the slaughter of animals, unlike avian flu. It also affects cattle, but with very low mortality.
Another serotype responsible for the death of thousands of animals in the south of France
FCO has been present in France for years, but with other serotypes, numbers 4 and 8. The south of the country is currently facing an epizootic of FCO 8 which has caused the death of thousands of animals on farms in recent weeks.
On Thursday, farmers gathered in Foix (Ariège) at the call of the Confederation Paysanne (the third largest agricultural union) to demand compensation following the estimated death of 4,000 sheep in Occitania since June.
Vaccination against FCO 8 exists, but is not covered by the State.
“This year we are facing a new variant of serotype 8, which is more virulent and is progressing. Previously, the Culicoides mosquito (the insect vector) did not evolve beyond 800 metres of altitude, but now we have farms affected at 1,000 metres,” explains Emmanuel Fontaine.
“That is why breeders are asking for state aid. Between the FCO 8 that is rising and the FCO 3 that is falling, breeders in the centre, where the large flocks are concentrated, are caught in a bind,” he warns, worried about the future of the French flock, which is just under 6 million sheep.
Source: BFM TV
