The blue tongue gave farmers in the region a bad year. The disease, which affects cattle and sheep, has struck more than 20% of Jura farms in recent months. A vaccine to combat this epizootic was authorized this fall in Switzerland by the Federal Office of Food Safety and Veterinary Affairs (OSAV). The consequences are, however, significant for certain breeders like Sylvain Quiquerez who is based in Grandfontaine and who testified on RFJ. “There are veterinary costs, but also abortions, which represent quite significant economic losses. The blue tongue also causes a reduction in milk production,” the farmer explained on our channel.
Regarding the vaccine, the first doses will be administered in the coming weeks in the region. “We hope to have immunity that covers the period of spring-summer-autumn 2025,” the president of the Society of Jura Veterinarians, Grégoire Theubet, indicated to our microphone a few weeks ago.
Note that the federal parliament has planned to grant 10 million francs for these vaccines against blue tongue disease as part of the 2025 budget of the Confederation. /alr
Swiss
