Innovative Vaccine Studies from French Company Ceva
According to Le Figaro, the French company Ceva, which focuses on animal health, is drawing attention with its vaccine developed for the protection of farm animals and wildlife. This vaccine not only protects the health of birds in zoos, but is also being tested directly in the wild.
In the Crozet archipelago in the southern Indian Ocean, a French overseas territory, a team from the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the French Polar Institute (IPEV) has launched a small-scale vaccination campaign on king penguin chicks, in what is considered an important step towards protecting the marine ecosystem.
Thierry Boulinier, a CNRS researcher, reported that the health of the approximately 50 penguin chicks vaccinated was very good and that the vaccine was confirmed to be harmless. Boulinier stated that this vaccine is administered by intramuscular injection and must be stored at -80°C, adding that the process is “demanding” but that they have been able to overcome this difficulty with the experience they have gained from past vaccination campaigns.
These vaccine studies are of great importance against the influenza virus, which caused almost half of the gannet population to disappear in the Brittany region of France in 2022. This flu, which causes the death of wild birds, stands out as a serious health problem that threatens many bird species around the world.
