Since Monday, the very first ducklings vaccinated against avian flu have been cackleing on farms in the Gers and Landes. Less than ten days old, some of them were entitled to a visit from Marc Fesneau, the Minister of Agriculture, who came in person to greet “this moment of rediscovered optimism”, and shared by the entire sector. “Since Monday morning, we have felt immense joy,” confirms Marie-Pierre Pé, the director of Cifog (the Interprofessional Committee of Foie Gras Palmipeds) which wants to see, finally, in this series of injections at the base of the birds’ downy necks “the promise of the end of the massive slaughters that no one wants to experience anymore”.
It must be said that breeders have paid a “heavy price” over the episodes of the epizootic which affected France in 2015, then in 2017, and has been falling almost continuously since 2020, bringing with it its share of dozens millions of preventive culls. And anxieties, first autumnal, at the time of the migration of wild birds, which has become permanent. “Because for a year we have been observing endemization, a maintenance of the virus in local wildlife,” underlines Jean-Luc Guérin, specialist in avian pathologies and head of the virology team at the National Veterinary School of Toulouse (ENVT-INRAE). The researcher is delighted with the arrival of a vaccine which is “the culmination of two years of collaboration between professionals and scientists”. “The test data is very positive,” he adds, confidently.
40 million ducks vaccinated to start
Concretely, France has obtained a first batch of 80 million doses of a German vaccine. The ducklings must receive a booster after 18 days, 40 million of the waterflies which must enter the production chain around the holidays, should be immunized. A second batch of vaccines, not necessarily from the same manufacturer, must follow. “The objective is to achieve collective immunity within a few months,” says Jean-Luc Guérin.
Of course, there will always be possible cases in chickens and turkeys, which are not affected by vaccination, and in particular when a wild bird infected with the H5N1 virus passes by, but the idea is that it “never again will there be major epidemics with transmission from one farm to another”.
Extremis expeditions to Japan
But this serenity found in the world of duck, and also surely in the minds of gourmets who wonder every year if there will be enough foie gras at Christmas, does not come without pressure. Because the vaccine strategy adopted here – which required an investment of 96 million euros – is unprecedented in Europe, rare in the rest of the world. Vaccines are inoculated into waterflies in China, Vietnam and Egypt, but among the ranks of major exporters, France is alone. And this offensive strategy can turn into an obstacle to selling in countries with restrictive legislation. Like Japan, for example, which has already warned that not a liver, not a vaccinated duck breast will cross its borders. “With 10% of purchases, it is the largest importing country,” underlines Marie-Pierre Pé. And as we were warned, the lots reserved for him left this weekend.” The manager is counting on “bilateral health diplomacy”, already deployed for several months, to convince reluctant countries via their officials located at the top of the health pyramid. “The road is still long,” she admits. All countries are watching us.”
“Vaccination is a privilege but also a requirement, corroborates Jean-Luc Guérin, hence the importance of our very heavy and very restrictive surveillance program which is imposed on us by European regulations”. So, is there happiness in the vaccination campaign? Can France, with its bold bet, transform the test into a competitive advantage? Response in a few months.