WASHINGTON — Recently there have been announcements such as Zoetis receiving a USDA conditional license for an avian influenza vaccine, and discussions have arisen regarding the use of vaccines to combat this current outbreak of HPAI that has greatly affected the nation’s egg layer flocks.
The use of vaccines would affect the ability of the U.S. poultry industry to export product, and the National Chicken Council is reiterating its stance on the use of vaccine and how it would impact international trade.
“Most countries, including the U.S. do not recognize countries that vaccinate as free of the HPAI due to concerns that vaccines can mask the presence of the virus,” NCC says, “Therefore, these countries do not import from countries that vaccinate.”
The U.S. is the second largest exporter of chicken in the world, with a value of more than $5 billion annually; the U.S. exports about 16 percent of its chicken meat production.
“Further, even if one sector (egg layers, turkeys, ducks) proceeds with a vaccine, the broiler industry will be impacted as our trading partners view all ‘poultry’ (egg layers, turkeys, broilers, ducks, etc.) the same,” NCC notes. “This means that regardless of what poultry sector vaccinates for HPAI, without the necessary trade protections in place, the broiler industry will lose our ability to export, which will cost the industry and the U.S. economy billions of dollars every year.”
The NCC also expresses its support for the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s “stamping out” policy to combat bird flu.
As stated in the APHIS response plan, “stamping-out” is defined in the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code as the “killing of animals which are affected and those suspected of being affected in the herd and, where appropriate, those in other herds which have been exposed to infection by direct animal to animal contact, or by indirect contact with the causal pathogen.”
A bipartisan group of Congressional members sent a letter last week to newly appointed U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins seeking assurances of protection for the U.S. chicken exports, if vaccination would be contemplated as a part of any government HPAI response.
“Until we have these written assurances and trade protections in place with our trading partners, and the definition of ‘poultry’ is changed by the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), NCC will continue to oppose vaccination for HPAI in any species,” the council added. “We strongly agree that any such strategy must include robust trade protections (for meat and genetics) for America’s broiler producers.”
