Why avian flu vaccine rollout would cost £1.5k/shed a month

Vaccinating UK poultry flocks for avian influenza has been described as “cost prohibitive” because an EU surveillance requirement for swabbing and testing would set producers back £1,000-£1,500/month for every shed housing immunised birds.

The true cost of vaccination was revealed for the first time at the British Free Range Egg Producers Association’s (BFREPA) 2023 National Free Range Show in Telford.

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Although the cost of the vaccine itself and its administration are unlikely to be high, the EU has set a high bar for its trading partners on testing flocks to ensure there are no “silent” infections circulating in vaccinated flocks.

Gordon Hickman, head of exotic disease control at Defra, says surveillance is the “real killer” in relation to the cost benefit of vaccination.

“If we follow the requirements the EU has set out for intra- and third-country trading, it is very, very prohibitive in terms of cost,” he says.

Surveillance requirements

It would demand monthly visits from a vet to take 60 samples from every shed because each is classed as a separate epidemiological unit; these samples would be tested at a government-approved laboratory.

In addition, producers would have to have their first five or 10 dead birds tested weekly, for the lifetime of the vaccinated flock.

“In your longer-lived production situations, that is every week from the point that you vaccinate,” Gordon explains.

Although Defra supports vaccination “provided it is properly managed, properly administered, we have a good surveillance strategy and our trading partners agree that it is the right thing to do”, he says the department is not yet able to recommend it.

It is likely that producers would pick up the tab for vaccination unless the virus became a threat to human health.

Although 91% of eggs produced in the UK supply the domestic market, the UK has important overseas markets for the sale of primary breeder chicks, hatching eggs and meat and egg products.

This means the needs of trading partners would have to be met before a significant vaccine programme could be rolled out.

If that does happen, vaccines are likely to be given to day-old chicks in the hatchery.

Two doses may be needed in long-lived birds such as layers, ducks and turkeys, with the second dose given at transfer.

Vaccine suitability

The biggest challenge with developing a vaccine for avian influenza is that the virus is constantly mutating.

This means vaccines developed now may not be effective against future strains.

This could cause problems in multi-age sites, because birds may not be vaccinated for the most current strain.

However, vet Ian Lowery, a partner of Crowshall Veterinary Services and consultant vet to the British Egg Industry Council, says some vaccines being used by other countries are proving effective.

“There is no perfect vaccine, no vaccine that ticks all those boxes for us, but there are vaccines that we can work with, [and] relatively quickly if we need to.”

How the cost would be shared within the industry would also need to be addressed.

“If a layer farm vaccinated, some significant benefit would be realised by the broiler or duck farm down the road, but that is quite hard to rationalise.

“How do we cost-share that between the various sectors that may not choose to vaccinate, but will fundamentally benefit on the back of it?”

There is also a risk that if the government sanctions vaccination, insurers are likely to demand that their policyholders vaccinate.

Producer verdict

A poll of poultry producers at the conference reflected current opinion on vaccination.

Before producers were advised of the cost and other considerations, a show of hands confirmed about 90% would consider vaccinating their own flocks; when they were later polled, not a single producer appeared to support it.