In an attempt to stem the outbreak of diseases affecting sheep, ovine and cattle in France, the State will order several million additional vaccines and make them available to farmers free of charge, the outgoing Minister of Agriculture, Marc Fesneau, announced on Friday.
The number of outbreaks of bluetongue serotype 3 has almost doubled in a week, reaching 342 confirmed outbreaks on 29 August, according to a new assessment of the disease, which has been spreading rapidly since its first detection in early August in northern France. After cases were detected in Saône-et-Loire and Orne, “we are expanding the area” in which vaccines are provided free of charge to breeders, “because there we are in a race against time,” announced the minister during a trip to Fangy in Saône-et-Loire.
The zone now covers “70% of the departments,” he said, and extends to the Rhône-Alpes region in the south and the Pays de la Loire region in the west.
The government will pay 14 million euros for 5.3 million additional doses, in addition to the 6.4 million doses already ordered. The Ministry of Agriculture also reminds in a statement that all breeders are encouraged to test their animals in case of suspected FCO of all serotypes, with the costs of the tests and the veterinary visit being covered by the State throughout the country.
Renewed activity
Before the appearance of FCO 3, French breeders had been dealing with FCO 4 and 8 serotypes for several years. FCO 8 has seen renewed activity in recent weeks in the south of the country. There is a separate vaccine for FCO 3, which was covered by the State from 2008 to 2018, but it is no longer covered for this epizootic, now considered endemic in France.
The Minister also announced the order of two million doses of a recently approved vaccine against epizootic haemorrhagic disease (EHD), a specific epizootic that particularly affects cattle in the south-west of the country. First detected in September 2023 in France and latent on farms this spring, it has re-emerged in recent weeks.
These vaccines, which will protect one million heads of cattle, will also be free of charge but will be distributed “according to a vaccination strategy that will be developed rapidly in consultation with the sectors”, the ministry said. The detection of these diseases does not lead to the slaughter of animals, unlike avian flu. They are not transmissible to humans, but they can weaken flocks, be fatal for pregnant calves and, in certain cases, cause the death of animals.
Source: BFM TV
