# 6837
Late in 2012 we learned that a `new’ clade of H5N1 had been detected in Indonesia (reportedly since September), and that hundreds of thousands of ducks had suddenly died on the island of Java (see Dr. Alan Hampson Interview On Indonesia’s New Bird Flu Clade).
H5N1 (aka `bird flu’) is not a single strain of influenza, but rather, a group of similar viruses sharing the same HA (hemagglutinin) and NA (neuraminidase) genes segments, that has continually evolved and mutated since its emergence in 1996.
You can see the evolution of the virus in the chart below, starting with Clade 0, first detected in 1996.
Over the years more than 20 genetically separate clades of the virus have emerged (not all continue to circulate), with many minor variants of each clade thrown in the mix.
Different areas of the world have seen different clades set up residence, with clade 2.3.2 (and now 2.3.2.1) very common in South East Asia, clades 2.2.1 and 2.2 endemic in Egypt and clades 2.1.1, 2.1.2. and 2.1.3 circulating in Indonesia.
One of the more successful`new’ clades making inroads over the past few years has been 2.3.2. I wrote of the spread of this emerging clade two years ago in What Goes Around, Comes Around and EID Journal: H5N1 Branching Out).
In the spring of 2010, after reports of poultry vaccine failures in Vietnam, we learned of a mutated version this clade (further classified as clade 2.3.2.1), which led to this 2011 statement FAO Warns On Bird Flu.
So far, media reports have only reported on clade 2.3.2 in Indonesia, not the mutated 2.3.2.1 strain.
While no surge in human infections with this new clade have been reported in Indonesia, it has become apparent that the current poultry vaccine used there is not up to the task of protecting flocks against it.
Today news, via the Jakarta Post, we have news of a new poultry vaccine expected to be made available in Indonesia next month.
C. Java to distribute new bird flu vaccines in Feb
Ainur Rohmah, The Jakarta Post, Semarang, Central Java | Archipelago | Wed, January 09 2013, 3:45 PM
The Central Java administration will start distributing in February vaccines for a new strain of bird flu, identified as H5N1 clade 2.3.2, that has killed thousands of ducks in Yogyakarta, Central Java and East Java.
Central Java Animal Husbandry Agency chief Whitono said on Wednesday that the master seed of the vaccines--discovered last December in Sukoharjo, Central Java--was currently being produced by the Agriculture Ministry’s Animal Husbandry Department.
Last month, in Egypt: A Paltry Poultry Vaccine, we looked at a new study – conducted by the Virology department at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital - appearing in the journal Poultry Science, that gauged the effectiveness of six commercially available H5 poultry vaccines currently deployed in Egypt.
Of the 6 vaccines tested, only one (based on a locally acquired H5N1 seed virus) actually appeared to offer protection.
Poultry vaccines that provide only partial protection can mask infections, but may not prevent the spread (and possible mutation) of a virus. A situation that experts, like Professor C.A. Nidom, of the Institute of Tropical Disease, Airlangga University have warned about in the past (see Indonesia: Debate Over Poultry Vaccination)
Although many countries rely on them, poultry vaccines are considered by the OIE (World Organization For Animal Health) short-term solution to combating the avian flu virus.
In Avian influenza and vaccination: what is the scientific recommendation?, the OIE reiterates their strong recommendation that humane culling be employed to control avian influenza, and advising that vaccines should only be used as a temporary measure.
While the OIE concedes that some nations may require the use of vaccines for `several years', they strongly urge that countries move away from that program and towards the more conventional culling policy.
They call this shift away from vaccines an `Exit Strategy’, a policy towards which countries like China, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Egypt – for political and economic reasons - have shown little inclination to follow.
