FRANCE

France urges bluetongue vaccination amid rising outbreaks

Animal welfare

France's Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty (MASA) is intensifying its call for livestock vaccination as the number of Bluetongue (BT) outbreaks sharply increases due to summer weather conditions.

Posted on Aug 06 ,00:10

This disease transmitted by insect biting, is currently affecting cattle, sheep, and goats across the country. MASA is providing sheep farmers with free doses of vaccines effective against serotype 8 of the disease.

Currently, two serotypes of Bluetongue are circulating in mainland France, causing clinical cases in ruminant animals: serotype 8 (BTV-8) and serotype 3 (BTV-3).

• BTV-8: Between June 1st and July 28th, 2025, 682 outbreaks of BTV-8 were confirmed. These were primarily concentrated in the Grand Ouest regions (Brittany and Pays de la Loire) and, to a lesser extent, in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The number of outbreaks is comparable to last year's figures.
• BTV-3: Over the same period, 487 outbreaks of BTV-3 were confirmed, mainly in the Great West, Brittany, and Pyrénées-Atlantiques. This figure is rising rapidly, notably because BTV-3 was not present in France at this time in 2024.

Updated data on identified outbreaks, including numbers and mapping, are available on the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty's website.

Vaccination: An effective and crucial protective measure

To safeguard ruminant herds in exposed regions, farmers are strongly encouraged to vaccinate their animals against both circulating serotypes of Bluetongue.

The sheep population in mainland France, heavily impacted in 2024, particularly by BTV-8 (accounting for 40% of outbreaks in 2025), is a key focus. MASA has ordered seven million doses of BTV-8 vaccine for 2025, sufficient to vaccinate all sheep farms. Orders for these state-funded doses are now open for all sheep farms across mainland France. By reducing viral circulation, this widespread vaccination will indirectly benefit all ruminant herds.

Farmers wishing to participate in this vaccination campaign for sheep should contact their health veterinarian. These veterinarians are responsible for prescribing, ordering, and delivering the vaccine doses from state reserves.

Furthermore, doses of BTV-8 vaccine for cattle and BTV-3 vaccine for both cattle and sheep can be purchased on the private market through health veterinarians.

MASA emphasizes that vaccination is recommended even for farms already affected by the virus. This is because not all animals are infected simultaneously, meaning the vaccine can protect the uninfected portion of the herd. Moreover, for animals already incubating the virus, vaccination can reduce viral shedding and alleviate symptoms.

Annie Genevard, Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty, stated: "Faced with the increase in Bluetongue outbreaks, it is crucial to protect ruminant farms now. There is an effective solution to this: vaccination. I call on all farmers to vaccinate their herds".

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