Bluetongue is spreading in France and is making farmers tremble. Although no cases have yet been confirmed in the Somme department, Farmers choose to vaccinate their animals.
In Coigneux in the north of the department, Sophie Thuilliez, helped by her two daughters, vaccinated seventy cattle and twenty sheep that were particularly at risk from the virus. For the farmer, it is necessary to act quickly to preserve livestock : “We are fortunate to have vaccines made available to us free of charge by the State so that we can protect ourselves. We must use them. There are outbreaks of contamination in neighboring departments, the midges that carry the virus do not stop at the border of these territories,” the breeder worries.
Bluetongue: farmers in the Somme have started vaccination © Radio France – Erwan Chassin
Free vaccination
“This disease is not yet present in France,” notes Nicolas Risbourg, director of the Picardie Health Defense Group, an association which represents breeders in the health management of livestock farms, in conjunction with veterinarians and the administration, “It can have a significant impact on animals by causing a deterioration in the health of animals, even leading to death. It is in view of this observation that the State has tried to provide the means to limit as much as possible the economic impact on ruminant farming.”
Nicolas Risbourg underlines the exceptional nature of this vaccination : “The State is playing its role of prevention here. It is responsible for the vaccination. It is then up to the farmer to administer the dose to the animals. On the other hand, vaccination is chargeable if the farmer decides to use a veterinarian.”The quantities of vaccine made available allow us to cover 100% of sheep and 40% of cattle in the area
A booster shot of the vaccine must be given three weeks after the first injection. In the Somme, vaccination began on Tuesday, August 13, according to Nicolas Risbourg.
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