The huge success of France’s vaccination campaign against avian influenza (bird flu) has been highlighted by the country’s National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (Inrae).
The number of cases of bird flu in the French poultry sector had declined by 96% since the start of a massive campaign to vaccinate ducks two years ago, Poultry World reported. The article was headlined “France: Avian influenza almost gone after vaccination”.
In previous years, France suffered some major outbreaks of avian influenza, with hundreds of farms affected and millions of ducks or other poultry culled.
Vaccination has reversed that trend. In the most recent period, there were only 11 cases of avian influenza in commercial poultry, compared to 396 in 2022/2024 and 1,378 in the previous year, Inrae figures show.
“France was officially declared free of avian influenza in February this year,” Poultry World reported. However, the risk of bird flu infection from wild birds remained high.
The French government paid 85% of the cost of vaccinations in the first year and 70% last year. It has now reduced that contribution to 40%.
An earlier Poultry World report said this reduction had angered the French poultry industry.
Vaccination against bird flu is “the only solution to prevent a health catastrophe”, the industry argued, and essential in reducing the high costs to government of compensation payments to farmers. These costs had exceeded €1 billion during previous large bird flu outbreaks.
Editorial comment:
The French success, with government funding, is in stark contrast to South Africa, where the planned mass vaccination programme against bird flu has stalled. Officials have set conditions that producers say are too onerous and expensive, and negotiations to get a more practical set of rules have failed.
The South African government also refuses to pay compensation for chickens they order culled during bird flu outbreaks, and is challenging a high court ruling that would have reversed that policy. While France succeeds, South Africa blocks actions that would reduce the risk of another catastrophic bird flu outbreak.
