A bird flu vaccination pilot programme has been launched on a commercial poultry farm in the Netherlands today (Monday, March 10).
The Netherlands is the first country in Europe to pilot such a vaccination programme, signalling a crucial step in advancing the control of avian influenza.
The pilot is being run by the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LVVN) in collaboration with the Dutch Agricultural and Horticultural Association, (LTO), a lobbying union representing the interests of the Dutch agriculture and horticulture industry.
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature, Femke Wiersma said: “I am pleased that the poultry sector wants to take this step with me. Vaccination offers a huge opportunity to better control bird flu.
“With this pilot, we are taking an important step towards a responsible and large-scale use of vaccination.”
Under the pilot, chicks in the hatchery will be vaccinated with the EU-approved, Innovax-ND-H5, to be reared as laying hens, whose eggs will remain in the Netherlands for consumption.
It follows the success of a previous so-called field trial, conducted by Wageningen University, and commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature in autumn 2023, provided evidence for the efficacy of two bird flu vaccines in practice.
Over 1,800 laying hens were vaccinated on the day of hatch and again at 12-weeks-old in the field trial, where they were later deliberately infected with avian influenza HPAI H5NI eight weeks post-vaccination and again at 24 weeks old, when egg production was reportedly at its apex.
No clinical signs of infection were observed in the vaccinated flock, as well as lower mortality rates overall, scientists at the university reported.
The pilot vaccination programme aims to expand upon this original field study and will test how the national surveillance programme works to detect infection on vaccinated farms.
In addition, it aims to assess how demand for Dutch poultry products respond to the vaccination programme, and whether international sales will be impacted.
Traditionally, vaccination programmes tend to deter international trade, and the pilot will serve to illustrate individual market’s response to the rollout of bird flu vaccines in the Netherlands.
According to the LTO/NOP, vaccination against bird flu constitutes “an important tool” in securing the “future of a sustainable and animal-friendly poultry sector”.
LTO poultry chairperson, Kees de Jong, said: “This is good news as this will soon give our animals extra protection against bird flu.”
The pilot will run until early 2027, starting at one poultry farm, with possible expansion to other farms, the Dutch ministry said.
British vaccination programme
In a statement published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the UK government ruled out the implementation of a similar vaccination programme in the UK.
As it stands, only birds residing in British zoos are eligible for the vaccine, the department confirmed, explaining that vaccinated birds can still transmit the virus.
Justifying its decision to rule out the expansion of the vaccine in commercial poultry settings, the department’s statement read:
“Use of avian influenza vaccine may reduce poultry mortality and clinical signs of the disease following infection. However, vaccinated birds can still become infected, shed virus, and transmit the virus to other vaccinated or unvaccinated birds, mammals and humans.
“As such, vaccination of birds may mask infection by increasing the time taken to detect and respond to detection of the virus.
“If appropriate surveillance is not put in place, this could result in a vaccinated flock being infected without detection as well as potentially creating a false sense of security, resulting in a possible relaxation of biosecurity and vigilance, further undermining the combined effectiveness of all measures to control the disease,” the statement added.
