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Bird flu is pushing the world toward the vaccine that no one once wanted

2023-02-19 19:27:36Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Bird flu is pushing the world toward the vaccine that no one once wanted
Illustrative photo

French farmer Herve Dupouy has culled his flock four times since 2015 to stop the spread of bird flu, but as a wave of deadly outbreaks approaches his farm once again, he says it's time to accept a solution that was once considered taboo: Vaccination!

"The goal is that our animals don't get sick and don't spread the virus," Dupouy said at his farm in southwest France.

"Our job as farmers is not to pick up dead animals."

Like Dupouy, more and more governments around the world are reconsidering their opposition to vaccines, as culling or locking up birds has failed to prevent bird flu from returning to flocks year after year.

Reuters spoke to senior officials at the world's largest poultry and egg producers, along with vaccine makers and poultry companies. They all said there had been a marked change in approach to vaccines due to the severity of this year's bird flu outbreak, although the biggest meat exporter, America, remains reluctant.

In addition to the cost of culling millions of chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese, there is also a growing fear among scientists and governments that if the virus becomes endemic, the chances that it will mutate and spread to humans will only increase.

"This is why every country in the world is worried about bird flu," said French Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau.

"There is no reason to panic, but we must learn from history on these subjects. That's why we're looking at vaccinations globally," he told Reuters.

Most of the world's largest poultry producers have resisted vaccinations because of concerns that they could affect exports to countries that have banned vaccinated birds.

But since the beginning of last year, bird flu has devastated farms around the world, leading to the deaths of more than 200 million birds from disease or mass destruction, the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) told Reuters. .

Last year's mass destruction also drove up the price of eggs, contributing to the global food crisis.

Mexico began emergency vaccinations last year, while Ecuador said this month it planned to cull more than two million birds after the virus infected a 9-year-old girl.

France is on track to start vaccinating birds in September, agriculture minister Fesneau told Reuters, ahead of the return of migratory birds that could infect farms.

Meanwhile, the EU agreed last year to implement a vaccine strategy in its 27 member states.

China, which consumes most of the domestic poultry production, has been vaccinating against bird flu for nearly 20 years and has managed to significantly reduce outbreaks.

But the world's largest poultry producer, America, is holding out for now.

America has been hardest hit worldwide in the latest outbreak with a toll of more than 58 million birds last year, followed by Canada, while France has suffered the most within the EU, WOAH data showed.

But the fear of trade restrictions remains a focus for countries reluctant to vaccinate birds against the flu.

While vaccines can reduce the mortality rate, some vaccinated birds can still become infected and transmit the disease, thereby spreading the virus.

This is why some countries refuse to take in birds that are vaccinated.

Bird flu can also change rapidly and reduce the effectiveness of vaccines while programs are costly and time-consuming, as vaccines often have to be administered individually. And even after the birds have been vaccinated, flocks must be monitored.

"Using a vaccine at this time would have detrimental impacts on the poultry trade, while still requiring quarantine, depopulation and surveillance," the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) told Reuters.

French Minister Fesneau told Reuters that Paris was negotiating with its non-EU trading partners to allow exports of vaccinated birds, while there were also bilateral talks at the EU level with countries outside the bloc.

Brazil, the world's largest poultry exporter, has so far avoided an outbreak and the need for a vaccine, although the virus is closing in on some of its neighbors including Bolivia, which is reporting outbreaks.

But countries such as France, which spent 1.1 billion last year to compensate poultry farmers for their losses, believe it is time to consider vaccination.

As part of the EU-wide strategy, France is conducting vaccine tests on ducks, which are highly susceptible to the virus and remain asymptomatic for many days, increasing the risk of transmission.

The Netherlands is testing vaccines in chickens, Italy is doing the same in turkeys and Hungary in ducks, with results from EU trials expected in the coming months.


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