France aims to contain livestock viruses with vaccine push

PARIS (Reuters) -France extended vaccination campaigns to contain a new variant of the bluetongue virus and the epizootic haemorrhagic disease, or EHD, livestock diseases that have been spreading in the country, the farm ministry said on Friday.

The BTV3 bluetongue virus, which spreads by insects and can be deadly for sheep, cattle and goats, has been circulating in the Netherlands, northern Belgium and western Germany since late last year. It passed into France earlier this month and Britain reported a first outbreak on Monday.

By Thursday, 342 outbreaks of BTV3 bluetongue had been reported in France, in both cattle and sheep herds, the ministry said on its website.

The EHD virus, which mainly affects cattle and deer, entered the country from the south. France detected 344 outbreaks of the disease between June 1 and Aug. 29.

Bluetongue and EHD are not harmful to humans and have no impact on the safety of food produced from infected animals, but the diseases can have significant economic repercussions, including with the closure of foreign markets.

France has increased the number of bluetongue vaccines that will be given for free to farmers to 11.7 million doses, from a total of 6.4 million doses previously, the ministry said.

For EHD, France ordered 2 million doses of vaccines which will also be given for free to farmers and will allow the vaccination of one million cattle, it said.

This comes after France said earlier this month it would launch a second vaccination campaign against avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, among farm ducks in October after a successful inaugural programme last year.

The virus, which had led to the culling of tens of millions of poultry in France over the past years, was detected on a farm this month for the first time since January, ahead of the expected seasonal peak during autumn and winter.

(Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide; Editing by Frances Kerry and Jonathan Oatis)