“Zoonotic influenza is a human health issue that must be managed using a global “one health” approach”declares Dr Christine Fébreau, assistant director of monitoring and health security at ARS Bretagne. During a press conference organized by OS Porc Bretagne on October 18 in Rennes (35), she recalled what zoonotic flu is. “Zoonotic influenza is caused by porcine or avian viruses. Seasonal flu is transmitted by human viruses. Influenza becomes zoonotic when it crosses the species barrier, either from animals to humans or vice versa, this is what we call virus reassortment. »
A regional zoonotic flu committee in Brittany
International surveillance is in place and all cases of zoonotic influenza detected must be reported to the WHO according to the International Health Regulations 2005. “Behind this, there are major economic and health issues. Highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses circulate actively. Swine influenza viruses circulate continuously at low noise. To date, in France, only one case of zoonotic flu of swine origin has been reported in 2021 and it was in Brittany. In the current context, international organizations recommend that member states strengthen their surveillance of influenza at the animal/human interface.specifies Christine Fébreau. As part of surveillance using the “one health” approach, last May, a regional zoonotic flu committee was set up in Brittany. The Covars (Health Risk Monitoring and Anticipation Committee) has issued recommendations to strengthen the surveillance of transmission and recombination events of Influenza viruses. “So-called passive surveillance is initiated for any suspicion of human influenza due to an avian or swine influenza virus. Active avian flu surveillance aims to identify professionals exposed to an outbreak of avian flu in order to monitor their state of health. Brittany is the location chosen to launch pilot surveillance aimed at professionals exposed to an outbreak of swine flu. It is important to offer appropriate care to reduce the risk of transmission in order to protect the population. » The objective is also to strengthen the vaccination strategy against seasonal flu for people in contact with farm animals who may be contaminated by zoonotic viruses.
14% of breeders vaccinated
Dr Bertrand Gagnière, lead physician on human vaccination at Santé Publique France, recalled the triple objective of seasonal vaccination: “protect vaccinated people against seasonal influenza, reduce the risk of infection of livestock by a human virus, avoid reassortment of human viruses – zoonotic viruses. Things must be explained well so that breeders become actors and become aware of their role in this natural ecosystem. They are the first to be able to put up barriers to protect the population. » A survey was carried out for the 2023-2024 season to estimate influenza vaccination coverage among 738 Breton pig breeders and 126 livestock employees. The survey reveals vaccination coverage of 14.1% compared to 17.5% the previous year. 36% of people vaccinated say they did so for professional reasons. 14% of unvaccinated people would have liked to do so but did not have the opportunity. “This figure proves to us that with a little effort we can easily double the number of vaccinated people. 70% of respondents say they know the issues surrounding: human/pig transmission, pig/human transmission, viral reassortments with pandemic potential and prevention measures. We have 37% of people who fear adverse effects following influenza vaccination”indicates Dr Pascal Crépey, professor at the School of Advanced Studies in Public Health. Only 31% of people say they received the MSA voucher to get the vaccine for free. And Dr Nicolas Duriez, MSA Brittany regional coordinating doctor, responded: “We have our own way of targeting breeders entitled to the vaccination voucher. As of this year, we have multiplied the target by 3 to have a maximum number of candidates for vaccination. » The positive thing is that there is little fixed opposition among breeders regarding vaccination. There are also many levers to improve vaccination coverage: “This requires easy access to pharmacies to obtain the vaccine and be vaccinated in the same place. We can count on the MSA to ensure better communication on vaccination. The organized network of local professionals (POs, veterinarians) are vectors of information as in improving the level of knowledge about influenza »concludes Dr Pascal Crépey.
Nicolas Goualan
Avoid the spread of new viruses
David Riou, president of OS Porc Bretagne
We must first be vaccinated to protect humans, limit the risk of contamination of our livestock and avoid any reassortment. As a breeder we also have the role of vaccinating ourselves to protect our animals and prevent them from spreading new viruses in nature. We must succeed in bringing the issue of influenza into our discussions between breeders. Some are sensitive to it but others, like me, not so long ago, are insensitive about the flu because I was not aware of all these issues. We need to talk about it in our breeder meetings, in our training in order to raise awareness about vaccination so that we can fully play our role in this ecosystem.
Health
