The €85m problem: Why Ireland cannot risk avian flu vaccination due to trade rules
The Department of Agriculture are not considering the vaccination of Irish poultry despite bird flu outbreaks.
A vaccination programme for Ireland’s poultry sector to combat the rapid spread of bird flu has been ruled out by the Department of Agriculture.
There have been five outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1 in the country, with flock owners complying with strict biosecurity measures and a compulsory housing order on all captive birds.
A number of Turkey farms have seen outbreaks, raising fears for the sector in the run-up to Christmas. However, despite the strict lockdowns and threat of the disease spreading further, strict conditions mean there is no vaccine for poultry available to flock owners in Ireland except for certain confined establishments, like zoos.
The cost involved in rolling out such a vaccination programme, along with restrictions on the export of vaccinated poultry to certain countries, means biosecurity measures are currently being followed as a means of containing the virus.
A spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture said: “There are a number of constraints to adopting poultry avian influenza vaccination, including trade implications and the impact vaccination would have on surveillance. Vaccination is permitted for use in confined establishments (i.e. zoos) under strict conditions in Ireland.
The Department continues to monitor developments around avian influenza vaccines in other Member States and in the UK.”
A vaccination programme has been introduced at Fota Wildlife Park, which remains closed to the public following a bird flu outbreak at the park. So far, the zoo has had 12 confirmed cases and has euthanised 73 birds.
In a recent advice webinar, it was explained to flock owners that even though the Department are not currently looking into vaccination for flocks, the possibility of vaccination is not entirely off the table further down the line.
It was also highlighted that mass vaccination of flocks in Ireland would incur massive costs for the industry and create trade restrictions. A major concern regarding poultry vaccination against the bird flu is the suppression of clinical signs hindering surveillance efforts for the disease.
Countries such as France and, as of this year, the Netherlands have vaccination programmes in place for HPAI for some poultry industries. The USA have also given conditional licensing earlier this year for Zoetis' bird flu vaccination in poultry flocks.
The vaccine administered in Fota Wildlife Park in Co Cork, where an outbreak of HPAI has occurred amongst its captive birds in the park’s collection, is the Nobilis Influenza vaccine. The vaccine contains an inactivated whole avian influenza virus antigen of the H5N2 subtype.
The vaccine has been shown to reduce clinical signs, mortality and spread of the virus if poultry were exposed three weeks after vaccination.
According to Bord Bia, in 2024, Ireland exported €85m worth of poultry to the UK, accounting for 62% of the total export value. The EU market received 24% total export value of Irish poultry exports worth €35m.
Other exports of Irish poultry included South Africa, reaching approximately €10m worth of produce, followed by Ghana with exports valued at €5m in 2024.
In 2023, France implemented a mandatory preventative vaccination programme for all duck flocks of more than 250 ducks due to the species’ particular susceptibility to the bird flu.
This decision made the country the world’s first large exporter to launch a nationwide vaccination programme such as this. However, the vaccination rollout meant French poultry imports were officially blocked by Japan, Thailand, the USA, Canada and the UK due to concerns that outbreak detection could be hindered due to reduced clinical signs of infection as a result of vaccination.
In January of this year, restrictions were eased on French imports of vaccinated poultry in the USA and Canada.
In May of this year, Britain also eased restrictions on French poultry imports, allowing the export of meat and meat products obtained from ducks in vaccinated flocks kept in establishments that comply with additional testing requirements agreed between Britain and France.
