A case of bovine brucellosis, an infectious disease feared by breeders, was confirmed on Tuesday in a dairy farm in Haute-Savoie, the Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement on Wednesday.
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Brucellosis is a bacterial disease that can be transmitted to humans through contact with the infected animal or by eating contaminated raw milk dairy products.
"Precautionary measures were therefore taken immediately, from the first suspect analyzes on October 20,"
says the Ministry of Agriculture, which specifies that since that date, the herd's milk has been used only for the manufacture of products. pasteurized.
Now that a case has been confirmed, all cattle in the infected herd will need to be slaughtered.
This is a regulatory requirement because brucellosis is a
“must-eradicate”
disease
.
A resurgence in 2012
France has been considered
“free”
from brucellosis since 2005, but a resurgence had already been observed in 2012 in the Bargy massif, in Haute-Savoie. Two human cases were then diagnosed after eating contaminated curd cheese. The analyzes had made it possible to trace the affected farm and infected ibex. Measures of capture-test of ibex, but also of slaughter of untested ibex, known as
“samples”
, had then been put in place, before being suspended in August 2020 by the administrative court of Grenoble.
To understand the origin of this new case of brucellosis, the Ministry of Agriculture ensures that epidemiological investigations are underway.
"Actions will be carried out in the very short term to strengthen the surveillance and control strategy implemented since 2012, with a view to seeking the eradication of this disease in wildlife," he
adds.
The ministry finally specifies that the losses of breeders forced to slaughter their cattle will be compensated by the public authorities.
