Merial Schmallenberg vaccine approved in France
A new vaccine to protect livestock against the deadly Schmallenberg virus has been approved in France, raising hopes it will soon be available in the UK.
In a statement, Merial announced its new Schmallenberg vaccine – SBVvax – has been approved by French authorities to be sold to farmers this autumn.
The company said it hoped doses of the vaccine, which is currently being considered for approval in the UK by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD), would be available for French vets to use before October.
The development in France raises the possibility that the vaccine could soon be available in the UK for farmers to use pre-tupping this autumn.
In its statement, Merial released more details about how the vaccine will likely be administered, including how it has performed in trials.
“SBVvax is indicated for active immunisation to prevent viremia due to the Schmallenberg virus in sheep and cattle,” said the company.
“In clinical efficacy studies, SBVvax showed prevention of viremia in 100% of the infected lambs and calves.
“The vaccination protocol for the inactivated injectable vaccine is one shot of 1ml for sheep, and two shots of 1ml for cattle, three weeks apart. SBVvax will be available as suspension in a 50ml bottle.”
Merial scientists developed the vaccine at the company’s laboratory in Lyon, France. However, details of how much it will cost have yet to be made public.
MSD Animal Health was awarded a licence by the VMD to market the first Schmallenberg vaccine, which is available for use this summer.
If it enters the market, Merial’s vaccine will rival MSD’s, although it is understood that Merial is targeting its vaccine to appeal to mainstream producers considering vaccinating their flocks or herds.
“When Schmallenberg virus arrived, we did everything we could to offer to our customers a high-quality vaccine in a record time,” says Silke Birlenbach, Merial’s head of veterinary public health.
“After having successfully developed the leading vaccine against the emergent bluetongue serotypes in Europe, Merial is now applying that expertise to the newly-emerging problem of Schmallenberg virus disease.”
The Schmallenberg virus is an entirely new virus first identified at the end of 2011 in cattle in Germany and the Netherlands. It has been detected in a wide range of animals, but primarily affects domestic ruminants such as sheep and cattle.
The virus is spreading rapidly and extensively throughout Europe. There were more than 8,000 farms with confirmed cases in Europe from September 2011 to April 2013.
According to the UK’s Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA), more than 2,000 cases of Schmallenberg virus have been confirmed on farms in the UK. The disease has been detected in every county in England and Wales and is spreading across Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The virus is transmitted to livestock by culicoides biting midges. Exposure to the virus during pregnancy can cause fatal birth defects and miscarriages in unborn sheep and cattle. The use of vaccines will help safeguard flocks for lambing and herds for calving next year.
A report from France recorded that, on highly affected farms, 41% of lambs were born malformed.
Read the latest news on the Schmallenberg virus in the UK