France starts bluetongue vaccination campaign

PARIS, Feb 14 (Reuters) - France has launched a nation-wide vaccination campaign against bluetongue, the virus that ravaged northern Europe's cattle and sheep in 2007, the farm ministry said on Thursday.

Vaccination will start in April and all cattle, goats and sheep should be treated against serotype 8 -- the particular strain of bluetongue that occurred in northern Europe -- by the end of the year, the ministry said in a statement.

The campaign will also target serotype 1, another strain that was first discovered in France in November, it added.

Bluetongue does not affect humans and there is no risk of contracting it by consuming milk or meat from infected animals.

The French market was split in three lots, two for vaccines against the serotype 8 and one against the serotype 1.

Fort Dodge Animal Health, a division of U.S. pharmaceutical company Wyeth (WYE.N), won the first lot for the serotype vaccine and the second lot was to be attributed this week, a farm ministry spokeswoman said.

As for the serotype 1 vaccine, France chose the company Intervet, a unit of Schering-Plough Corp (SGP.N), she said.

She did not immediately have the volume for each of these lots but said that by the end of August some 30 million doses would be available to vaccinate 15 million cattle and more than 10 million small ruminants, including goats and sheep.

Bluetongue, which is transmitted by midges, is characterised by inflammation of the mucous membranes, congestion, swelling and haemorrhages. Sheep, rather than cattle, are often the worst affected animals.

The disease has spread with alarming speed from southern Europe to the north with more than 50,000 confirmed cases in 11 countries last year. The first case of serotype 8 was reported in August last year.

EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou last month urged EU countries to order vaccines to fight a resurgence of the disease this year.

Bluetongue vaccination, which will be optional in France, has been successfully used in a number of EU countries that have been affected by the disease. Italy, Spain, France and Portugal have all used vaccination. (Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide, Editing by Peter Blackburn)