Bird flu: EU divided over poultry vaccination

The EU-25 disagree on the pros and cons of mass vaccination of commercial poultry. Vaccination might halt the spread of H5N1 to poultry but could also lead to non-EU countries banning imports of European poultry products.

EU member states’ veterinary experts met on 21 February 2006, to discuss whether commercial poultry should be vaccinated against avian flu. France and the Netherlands are the forerunners on this matter and their plans for preventative vaccination were discussed in the meeting. However, other countries, such as Austria, Denmark, Germany and Portugal, fear the costs of such a vaccination programme, its effect on consumer confidence and non-EU countries eventually banning EU poultry products. As no agreement could be reached, the experts will hold a second meeting on 22 February.

In a previous meeting, of the EU’s agriculture ministers on 20 February 2006, Italy, France, Greece and Spain called for looser state aid rules and for the Commission to allow governments to support poultry farmers who were in trouble due to falling consumption of poultry products. They also asked for the provision of a European fund to compensate for losses in trade. These plea were rejected by the Council as the situation was not judged to yet be serious enough. The Commission agrees on domestic aid plans as long as the EU’s state aid rules are respected. It is set to examine measures to compensate poultry farmers and submit its proposals to the experts shortly.

An informal meeting of the health ministers of the EU-25, acceding and candidate countries and experts from the Commission and relevant international organisations will take place on 24 February to discuss the spread of avian influenza and its impact on public health. 

So far, Austria, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, France and Slovenia have reported H5N1 in wild birds. No cases of H5N1 in commercial poultry have been detected.

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