As an avian influenza virus devastates the poultry industry, the United States considers an unprecedented step: vaccinating its flocks. LongReads
Hilliker’s Ranch Fresh Eggs in this San Diego suburb has 30,000 chickens in three “cage-free,” open-air barns, where birds crowd the floor like rush-hour riders on a big city subway. “A cage-free aviary is a very interesting science experiment,” says Frank Hilliker, who runs the farm hisin 1942. He worries mightily about infections spreading through the massed birds.
The goal of vaccination is not just to protect poultry. Well before COVID-19, epidemiologists were nervously watching two kinds of highly pathogenic influenza viruses, H5 and H7, fearing they could erupt into a human pandemic reminiscent of the 1918 flu. HPAI can infect mammals, and the current, massive outbreak has killed seals, bears, and farmed mink and infected at least seven people, killing one.
Many questions remain about how, exactly, to use a vaccine in countries that have relied on culling. And because of the uncertain U.S. market, companies are reluctant to invest in moving beyond the initial steps of making vaccines against the current variant and embarking on the rigorous and costly process of seeking regulatory approval.
And something else has kept the brakes on HPAI vaccination in both the United States and Europe: trade. Some countries—including the United States—won’t allow imports of meat or eggs from vaccinated birds.
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