Return of bird flu brings test for French vaccination strategy
29/11/2023 15:32
By Sybille de La Hamaide
PARIS, Nov 29 (Reuters) - The first outbreak of bird flu
this season on a farm in France has put the industry on watch to
see if the country's strategy of vaccinating birds will prove
effective, helping avoid a repeat of previous crises that killed
millions of poultry.
The farm ministry said on Tuesday a first case of the highly
pathogenic bird flu was found among turkeys in Brittany,
northwestern France, as a seasonal wave of infections spreads
across Europe, the United States and Japan.
Bird flu is usually carried by migrating wild birds before
being transmitted between farms. It ravaged flocks around the
globe in the past years, disrupting supply, fueling food prices
and raising concerns over the risk of human transmission.
To protect itself, France launched a vaccination campaign in
early October, initially limited to ducks, which can easily
transmit the virus without showing symptoms.
"The new outbreaks are a stress because with these viruses
one never knows if the 'dike' will be strong enough,"
Marie-Pierre Pe, director of France's duck and foie gras
industry group CIFOG, told Reuters, referring to prevention
measures.
France aims to vaccinate over 60 million ducks but only 70%
have received a first shot and 40% been fully vaccinated so far,
Pe said.
France is the first large exporter to vaccinate poultry
against bird flu, braving trade barriers from countries that
fear the virus could spread without being noticed.
The vaccine is not supposed to fully protect birds from
catching the disease but would limit its spread and thus avoid
massive preventive culls. It comes in addition to standard
biosecurity and control measures.
"Vaccination is an additional tool but it does not protect
us completely," Philippe Gelin, chief executive of France's
largest poultry group LDC LOUP.PA , told Reuters. "We need to
be vigilant and ensure that it remains limited."
(Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide, editing by Gus Trompiz and
Bernadette Baum)
((Sybille.deLaHamaide@thomsonreuters.com; +336 8774 4148;))