Avian influenza vaccination is coming to the western world. It’s a good thing and should be helpful when used properly.
Taboo
Vaccination against highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is a touchy subject and for good reason. The prevailing view of international trade is: If you’re vaccinating, it must mean HPAI is out of control in your area and your products aren’t safe to import.
In the U.S., if any party were to begin vaccinating today, then – by the rules all parties follow – the more than $5 billion broiler export market would be gone, along with all other poultry exports. That’s a steep price to pay, but it’s based on an increasingly shaky argument.
HPAI is everywhere now, thanks to migratory birds, and it continues to spread to individual farms by way of wild birds. Countries will have a harder time arguing they are protecting themselves from HPAI when the disease is already present in its domestic poultry operations.
Presidential panic
I believe a perhaps unnecessary flutter was created when the New York Times and others publicized a White House rumor about a mass vaccination campaign against HPAI.
First, that can’t happen today due to extant regulations. Second, vaccination wouldn’t be conducted on a large scale in the U.S. unless of extreme circumstances.
DIVA
The fact is, HPAI isn’t going away and it continues to evade biosecurity defenses. A modern vaccination strategy could, in theory, be carried out in a developed country like the U.S.
This vaccination concept would be focused on a differentiating infected from vaccinated animals (DIVA) surveillance strategy. Under this plan, only a small amount of birds in a targeted area would receive a vaccine when necessary. Then there would be strict surveillance to assure infected birds are kept out of international trade.
It’s something we must consider, especially for parties that want or need vaccination.
