17 October 2026
The French Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty, through the Directorate General for Food (DGAL), has officially launched its fourth consecutive nationwide mandatory vaccination campaign against highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI H5) in commercial duck flocks for the 2026-2027 season.
Running from October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2027, the campaign builds on three years of large-scale field vaccination that dramatically reduced viral circulation in France’s high-density waterfowl production areas. The number of commercial outbreaks fell from more than 400 during the 2022–2023 season to fewer than a dozen annually following the introduction of vaccination.
Under the national regulatory framework, vaccination remains mandatory throughout metropolitan France, excluding Corsica, for commercial holdings with more than 250 ducks intended for meat production (canards de chair) or foie gras production (canards gras), as well as breeding ducks before export or domestic placement.
For the 2026–2027 season, the program uses two authorized vaccine technologies intended to provide protection against circulating H5 clade 2.3.4.4b strains:
- Ceva Santé Animale’s Cevac Respons AI H5: A self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) vaccine delivered in lipid nanoparticles, designed to induce humoral and cellular immune responses while supporting DIVA (Differentiating Infected from Vaccinated Animals) strategies.
- Boehringer Ingelheim’s Volvac B.E.S.T. AI + ND: An inactivated recombinant baculovirus-based subunit vaccine.
The standard primary vaccination schedule reportedly consists of two injectable doses administered during the rearing period, typically at around 10 and 28 days of age. An additional booster dose is required for ducks raised in high-density regulated risk zones (ZRD) or kept outdoors for extended periods.
The vaccination program is complemented by a two-tier surveillance system:
- Passive surveillance: Daily mortality monitoring, with immediate PCR testing when mortality exceeds established baseline thresholds.
- Active virological surveillance: Monthly veterinary inspections, including tracheal or oropharyngeal swabbing of 60 ducks per vaccinated flock, as well as PCR screening before movement or slaughter, to detect otherwise undetected viral circulation and shedding.
While the initial 2023 campaign received an 85% state subsidy, the 2026–2027 rollout reflects a gradual shift toward long-term industry co-financing. Government support continues to focus on official veterinary surveillance and laboratory PCR diagnostics, while poultry integrators and industry organizations, including CIFOG and ANVOL, are assuming a growing share of vaccine procurement and administration costs as part of a long-term biosecurity strategy.
