#17,857
Last week in France Reports An Avian Flu Outbreak In A Vaccinated Flock we looked at official reports of an outbreak of HPAI H5 in a flock of 8,700 vaccinated ducks on a farm in Vendée, in Western France.
Poultry vaccination remains controversial, with many countries (including the United States and the UK) holding off over concerns that the vaccine may not fully prevent infection (see Vaccines: Vaccination and Antiviral Treatment against Avian Influenza H5Nx Viruses (Review Article))..
Countries opting for poultry vaccination must require the use of high-quality and updated vaccines, set up robust surveillance systems, require poultry producers to adhere to the control strategy, and ensure the traceability of the entire process.
The concerns over `breakthrough' infections remain, and last December France - citing unspecified `New scientific evidence ' - unexpectedly Ordered a 3rd Vaccine Dose For High Risk Ducks.
While disappointing, an occasional outbreak in vaccinated poultry is not unexpected.
Today, however there are media reports in the French press (h/t Pathfinder on FluTrackers) of a second outbreak on the same farm (in a different barn), this time involving 17,000 Muscovy ducks. So far, I've not found any official statement, but the paper quotes the farm's owner, who is also the Mayor of Notre-Dame-de-Riez.
From the article we learn that an additional 17,000 ducks were depopulated after dead ducks were discovered on January 5th. The Mayor is quoted as saying “We discovered dead animals there with symptoms of bird flu. We did laboratory tests and it came back positive. It’s a shock.”
Lethal infection in fully vaccinated ducks is somewhat surprising. Hopefully we'll see some official statement in the coming days.
For some past blogs on the pros and cons of poultry vaccination, you may wish to revisit:
J. Virus Erad.: Ineffective Control Of LPAI H9N2 By Inactivated Poultry Vaccines - China
