The state's strategy since nodular dermatitis - also known as lumpy skin disease - appeared in France in June has been to kill affected herds and vaccinate all cattle within a 50-kilometre radius. Last week it then broadened inoculations to include up to one million head of cattle in the southwestern Nouvelle-Aquitaine and southeastern Occitanie regions. Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard on Monday urged farmers to have faith in the plan.
One month after it was first detected in France, there are now 51 recorded cases of the highly contagious cattle virus Dermatose nodulaire contagieuse (known as Lumpy Skin Disease) in the French Alps.