Bluetongue: Number of outbreaks in France increasing exponentially, Ministry calls for vaccination
The spread of bluetongue (BT) has been exponential in recent weeks in French livestock farms, with more than 2,000 outbreaks recorded in one month, particularly in the West, according to official figures released on Friday, August 1 , by the Ministry of Agriculture.
Faced with the rapid spread of the disease in livestock farms, the Ministry and the National Sheep Federation (FNO) – a specialist branch of the FNSEA – have called on farmers to urgently vaccinate their ruminant herds to avoid last year's catastrophic scenario.
This disease is transmitted to cattle, sheep, and goats by biting insects—culicoides—which are currently more active, the ministry points out. In addition to fever, respiratory problems, and abortions, the disease has a longer-term impact on fertility and milk production in both sheep and cattle.
FCO 3 cases double in one weekTwo serotypes are currently circulating in France: serotype 8 (FCO 8) and serotype 3 (FCO 3). Between June 1 and July 31, 1,117 cases of FCO 3 were recorded, including more than 1,100 in July alone, mainly in Brittany and, to a lesser extent, in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, a region particularly affected last year.
This serotype, which appeared in France on August 5, 2024, caused the contamination of 712 homes in one month from its appearance, the summer season favoring midges which transmit this “blue tongue disease” .
This year, the number of cases more than doubled in one week between July 24 and 31, even though the vaccine against this serotype is widely available from veterinarians, explains Michèle Boudoin, president of the FNO.
For FCO 8, which has been endemic for several years in France, 1,060 cases were recorded between June 1 and July 31. They have particularly exploded in recent weeks in Morbihan, which has 367 outbreaks.
Not enough vaccinationsThe ministry has ordered seven million doses of serotype 8 vaccine for this season , "enable[ing] all sheep farms to be vaccinated," it said in a press release published Friday, a month after the launch of the vaccination campaign. "It is crucial to protect ruminant farms now (...) I call on all farmers to vaccinate their herds," declared Minister Annie Genevard, quoted in the text.
"The ministry has done the job, we have vaccines, even if they arrived a little late, they are free for FCO 8, we have obtained 15 million euros of additional European aid thanks to the remainder of organic for the sheep sector, which suffered a lot last year" , affirms Ms. Boudoin, distraught in the face of breeders who do not vaccinate their flocks.
Brittany was less affected last year, but the breeder says the ministry had anticipated this by sending doses to areas where herd immunity may have been less likely to develop.
"These are small farms in the region that are at risk of being decimated, and some farmers don't seem to have received the message. Last year, we asked for aid because vaccines were unavailable and expensive. That's not the case this year; we have to take responsibility in a context of budgetary crisis," she adds.
Heavy tribute last yearIn the spring, the industry suffered the consequences of the disease with a lower number of lambs than in previous years, particularly around religious holidays. The market became "tight" , prices increased and there was "less consumption (...) we cannot afford another crisis" , laments Ms Boudoin.
A €75 million loss compensation fund was set up in 2024 for victims of serotypes 3 and 8. The state also financed 13.7 million doses of vaccines for €38 million.
The Confédération paysanne, the third-largest agricultural union, denounced in a press release on Wednesday "an extremely late delivery of vaccines" and asked the State "at a minimum, to renew the 2024 compensation scheme for all livestock (cattle, sheep, goats) affected by at least one serotype of bluetongue or by epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD)" . It also calls for indirect losses and veterinary costs to be compensated.
Veterinarians had recommended vaccinating as early as possible in the spring, before the animals were taken out of the stables.
The World with AFP
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