The Ministry of Agriculture of France has announced that a second vaccination program would be initiated during October.  In 2023, approximately 50 million ducks were immunized with beneficial results.  Accordingly, ducks, many of which are on free-range and intended for foie gras production, in the Acquitane, Dordogne and Pyrenees-Atlantique regions require protection given the close proximity of farms, exposure to migratory birds and deficiencies in biosecurity.

The Department of Agriculture has ordered 70 million doses of vaccine to be supplied by Ceva Sante Animale and Boehringer Ingelheim.  The 2024 program will have an estimated cost of $110 million with 70 percent financed by the Government.

France clearly recognizes the value of preventive immunization to control and prevent viral infections among poultry and livestock and has concurrently introduced a vaccination program to protect sheep and cattle from bluetongue virus that is transmitted by Simulium midges and possibly other hematophagous insects.

After unsuccessful annual attempts to contain HPAI among ducks, in the foie gras-producing regions of France, it was decided in 2023 to abandon proactive and conventional post-exposure depopulation with decontamination to establish an immune population following established principles of epidemiology. 

It is possible that France will extend vaccination to chickens and turkeys in the Province of Brittany where introduction by marine birds has initiated a recent case of HPAI following previous seasonal outbreaks of the infection.