Questionnaire survey about the motives of commercial livestock farmers and hobby holders to vaccinate their animals against Bluetongue virus serotype 8 in 2008-2009 in the Netherlands.
After a massive epidemic of Bluetongue virus serotype 8 (BTV-8) among ruminants in 2006-2007 in the European Union (EU), the Netherlands started a voluntary emergency vaccination campaign in May 2008, subsidized by the EU. At the start of a new campaign in 2009, without subsidized vaccination, we investigated by mail survey the motives of farmers and hobby holders to vaccinate against BTV-8 in 2008 and 2009. Mean vaccine uptake in 2008 was: 73% in sheep, 71% in cattle, 43% in goat farms and 67% in hobby holdings. Top-5 motives pro-vaccination were: prevention of production loss; subsidized vaccination; recommendation by practitioner; welfare reasons; contribution to the eradication campaign. Top-5 motives against vaccination were: vaccination costs; absence of clinical BT-problems; presumed low infection risk; balance between vaccination costs and loss without vaccination; bad experience with earlier vaccination campaigns. Willingness to vaccinate was significantly lower in 2009: 42% in sheep, 58% in cattle, 19% in goat farms and 49% in hobby holdings. Measures to stimulate vaccination among those that did not want to vaccinate in 2009 were: subsidized vaccination; possibility to vaccinate their own animals; more information on efficacy/safety of vaccine and why animals had to be vaccinated again; availability of a BT vaccine combined with vaccine(s) against other diseases.
Elbers
A R W
AR
Quantitative Veterinary Epidemiology and Risk Analysis Group, Department of Virology, P.O. Box 65, 8200 AB Lelystad, Netherlands. armin.elbers@wur.nl
de Koeijer
A A
AA
Scolamacchia
F
F
van Rijn
P A
PA
D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic / Q000276:immunology*; D001819:Bluetongue / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D001820:Bluetongue virus / Q000276:immunology*; D002417:Cattle; D003625:Data Collection; D006041:Goats; D006801:Humans; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D012756:Sheep; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014611:Vaccination / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014765:Viral Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage*
D014765:Viral Vaccines