In the United States, poultry vaccination is likely to focus on egg chickens, unlike meat chickens, which are grown for meat. During the current outbreak, more than 77 percent of domestic chickens have been affected by commercial egg chickens. In a USDA press statement, Rolins said the agency is investigating “targeted and thoughtful strategy” for vaccination.
But the broiler industry is worried that even the vaccination of laying hens is targeted, damaging the United States, the second largest exporter of poultry meat. Ashley Peterson, a senior deputy of scientific and supervisory affairs at the National Poultry Council, says other countries are likely to ban all US poultry products, even if the United States only vaccins the laying hens. “When you move on to the vaccine, you basically say that the virus is native, and that’s how we want to deal with it,” he says. We prefer not to deal with the virus. We prefer to get rid of it completely. “
The organization supports current USDA policy on collecting contaminated herds, as well as enhancing biological security in the fields – actions such as new animal quarantine, wearing protective clothing in poultry homes, disinfecting shoes before entering animal areas and cleaning farm equipment.
But Carroll Cardona, a professor of bird health at the University of Minsota Veterinary College, says biological security alone is unlikely to destroy bird flu. “Farmers are very tired of hearing biological security because they do their best to do so right now,” he says. “Without more information on how these birds are contaminated, it is very difficult to target biological security properly.”
The virus can be transported inside and out of the chicken warehouse on shoes, clothing and equipment that falls from the warehouse and out of the warehouse. Mice, mice and other small mammals can also carry the virus.
With the disease, which is now very widespread, it will take more than one strategy to reduce its outbreak, Cardona says. “We fight with this one -hand fight behind us, and I think there are other tools,” he says. “We need to create new methods to preserve it and part of it includes vaccination.”
Even if the vaccination does not always prevent infection, Lorenzoni says it still helps reduce the amount of virus circulating in the environment, which reduces the rate of the disease in the fields.
And business disorder can be brief. Rollins said USDA will work with business partners to limit the effects of export markets from possible vaccination. Lorenzouni says there will be pressure from other markets to maintain international poultry exchange. “It is in the interest of everyone to move the commercial agreement as fast as this commercial agreement,” he says.
