EU gives green light for targeted poultry vaccination

The EU-25’s veterinary experts have approved the French and Dutch national plans for preventative vaccination of poultry. The vaccinations will, however, be subject to rigorous surveillance and control requirements.

The EU’s Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCFCAH) has approved the Commission’s proposal to allow France and the Netherlands to immediately start targeted preventative vaccination of poultry. 

Vaccination will reduce the risk of poultry becoming infected with the H5N1 virus, lowers the chances of the virus being introduced into a vaccinated holding and helps to lower the risk of the disease spreading. However, vaccinated birds may still become infected with the virus, as the vaccination does not provide a 100% protection against the virus. 

Vaccination might also hide an outbreak of the disease in poultry as, due to vaccination, bird may have fewer symptoms of infection. This would naturally delay the detection of the virus and increase the risk of it spreading. Therefore, France and the Netherlands need to introduce strict surveillance and control measures for the vaccinated birds. These measures include, for example, the use of unvaccinated control-birds in the vaccinated flock and regular testing of both vaccinated and unvaccinated birds.

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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.