Bluetongue vaccines not covered by the State: in Aveyron, unions and breeders react

Pour le moment, le département de l’Aveyron est épargné. Midi Libre – SYLVIE CAMBON

With a new variant in the northern departments of France and an increase in the number of cases of serotype 8 in the south, bluetongue disease is causing concern among farmers in Aveyron.

The situation is worrying and raising questions. On August 8, the first outbreaks of bluetongue (BT) serotype 3 – an exotic variant in France – were confirmed in the departments of Nord and Aisne.

This situation, although far from the Aveyron borders, is being closely monitored by the department's breeders and particularly by the federation of health protection organizations of Aveyron, Health Defense Group (FODSA-GDS 12).

"Numerous suspicions of FCO serotype 3 are currently being analyzed, can be read on the federation's website. It appears very likely that the French regulated zone will extend to the south and east in the coming years. weeks."

Aveyron spared, for how long ?

In the south of France, it is rather the FCO serotype 8 which is raging in farms with, among others, 25 cases recorded in Tarn. As for the department of Aveyron it remains, for the moment, spared.

However, the question worries farmers and agricultural unions, for whom there is no doubt: serotype 3 could arrive any day in Aveyron farms. “It doesn't matter how, but we imagine that the disease will cross the country”, assures Laurent Saint-Affre for the FDSEA.

A concern also noted in Aguessac where Rémi Agrinier is a dairy and meat sheep farmer. “It can happen quickly, especially with population flows. All it takes is for a person on holiday in a regulated area to come back here with a mosquito carrying it in their vehicle and things can go very quickly, without an animal having to be moved." Problem: vaccination against this new variant is covered by the State in the North, but not in the South.

“We are asking for the vaccine to be free everywhere in France”

“Serotype 3 recently arrived in France with a first official case on Friday, August 9. And the vaccine arrived after the first cases. That's why the State is covering it,” explains Laurent Saint-Affre. A brand new remedy in limited quantities, delivered during the targeted voluntary vaccination campaign launched on August 12 in six regions: Hauts-de-France, Normandy, Ile-de-France, Grand-Est, Centre-Val de Loire and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. “Outside this area, the vaccine can be prescribed by the treating veterinarian but remains the responsibility of the breeder”, indicates the FODSA-GDS 12 website.

The decision leaves southern farmers doubtful. “What we are asking is for the vaccine to be free for FCO 3 throughout France”, supports Laurent Saint-Affre. Indeed, it is too much for Aveyron breeders. They see in this difference in treatment a new reason to see their money thrown out the window. "That in the first instance it should be prioritized for those who are on the front lines of the disease, I hear it, underlines Rémi Agrinier. But in the second instance, if they want the vaccination to be done by the breeders, it will have to be taken care of everywhere because it has a financial cost."

To vaccinate or not ?

To give you an idea, “generally it costs between two and three euros per sheep for a vaccination”, explains the Nagassol breeder. For his 500-head farm he will then have to pay, at a minimum, 1,000 euros. “A cost that brings us nothing", he confesses. A gamble – or rather a difficult choice – for breeders who choose vaccination or not.

What about MHE ?

Free vaccination is also requested for EHD (epizootic hemorrhagic disease) carried by culicoides (midges also vectors of bluetongue), particularly during periods of high heat. “The EHD began to circulate before the vaccine was available. This is why we are requesting the State that it be taken care of”, says Laurent Saint-Affre for the FDSEA. A vaccine normally expected at the beginning of September 2024.

A question that Rémi Agrinier is asking himself. He is carefully watching the bulletins sent by the FODSA-GDS 12. They provide an account of the evolution of the number of cases of FCO in France, and especially in Aveyron.

"For the moment, we have not vaccinated. Given that we were affected last year, we have, at the department level, a little immunity, deciphers the breeder. We will see how the disease develops. If we see that there are a lot of cases starting to arrive, we will perhaps opt for vaccination.” The period still has to be right, since on this farm, on September 5, the ewes will enter the breeding season. A less favorable time to undergo the shock of a vaccine, especially so that the results are fruitful.

2,000 sheep died in Aveyron last year

The question arises above all to avoid reliving the damage of last year. "We have had many cases of FCO 8 where there has been mortality, confirms Laurent Saint-Affre for the FDSEA. It is estimated at 500 cows and 2,000 sheep in the fall of 2023, only in Aveyron."

Although well known to breeders for about fifteen years, serotype 8 has been rampant in many Aveyron farms over the past year. The cause of this increase, which at first seemed abnormal, is a mutation of the serotype.

“Breeders have had the opportunity to vaccinate against FCO 8 for a long time. This variant has been present in France for a long time, but it mutated slightly over the past year. So we thought we had immune animals, but as soon as it mutated slightly, the immunity fell,” Laurent Saint-Affre analyzes.

“As soon as we can, we must take responsibility and vaccinate our herds to protect them”, believes the FDSEA union member. A real dilemma for some farms, between convictions and financial means, which expect the State to give a helping hand on the second point.

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