The European Union (EU) has experienced an epidemic of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in wild and domestic birds in recent years. Areas with dense poultry farm populations are at particular risk for HPAI transmission. Vaccination can be considered in addition to measures already implemented (e.g. surveillance, biosecurity and early detection) to prevent and control the spread of HPAI.
Therefore, the European Commission asked EFSA for an overview of available HPAI vaccines, their effectiveness against currently circulating viruses and an evaluation of various vaccination plans to inform decisions on possible vaccination strategies.
EFSA was also mandated to evaluate surveillance and risk mitigation measures in vaccinated areas and farms. These issues will be addressed in a separate scientific opinion, expected to be completed in March 2024.
HOW DID EFSA CARRY OUT THIS WORK?
The EFSA issued a scientific opinion on this issue in 2007.
In this opinion, information on available vaccines and their characteristics was compiled through a literature search, and in a survey launched by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and disseminated by EFSA and the World Organization for Animal Health ( WOAH). Data were also collected through consultation of the EU Reference Laboratory (EURL) and the National Reference Laboratory (NRL) network, and directly from pharmaceutical companies’ websites.
The effectiveness of vaccination strategies was simulated using mathematical models. The data they used was published literature; survey data; data on the poultry population in France, Italy and the Netherlands; data on HPAI outbreaks in France, Italy and the Netherlands; and data on preventive culling in France, Italy and the Netherlands.
WHAT WERE THE LIMITATIONS?
The EFSA has encountered certain limitations, one of which is that the Data on the effectiveness of protection and duration of protection of available vaccines against HPAI “are not harmonizeds and they are few; Therefore, a detailed description and comparison of these vaccines is not possible,” they explain.
Furthermore, they point out that few vaccines are tested in poultry species other than chickens.
Likewise, “field studies on the effectiveness of vaccination to stop the transmission of the virus are scarce.”
RESULTS AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS
The experts provided updated information on the types and characteristics of available vaccines, concluding that There is currently only one authorized vaccine against HPAI in chickens in the EU.provided information on different vaccination strategies to control HPAI in poultry, i.e. emergency protective vaccination in areas close to an HPAI outbreak and preventive vaccination in areas and farms where the infection is not yet present. .
They also gave recommendations for future scientific studies on HPAI vaccines.
Furthermore, EFSA’s scientific advice on HPAI vaccines and vaccination strategies will inform policy makers in EU Member States and risk managers on possible HPAI prevention and control strategies. which will allow informed decisions to be made regarding HPAI prevention and outbreak control.
EFSA advice can guide future development and use of HPAI vaccines.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The EFSA has listed a series of recommendations for policy makers and risk managers.
First of all, they point out that “preventive vaccination is the optimal vaccination strategy to minimize the number of outbreaks and the duration of the epidemic and should be carried out in the most sensitive and infectious poultry species in areas of transmission of high risk. “Multiple administration (i.e., booster vaccines) can be used to improve protection.”
“In the event of an outbreak, emergency protective vaccination is recommended within a 3 km radius of the outbreak in high-risk transmission areas,” they add.
Likewise, they emphasize that “the effectiveness of the vaccine must be monitored for all vaccination strategies.”
And “vaccination should complement and not replace other preventive and control measures, such as infection surveillance in birds, early detection and biosecurity, and is recommended as part of an integrated disease control approach.”
Regarding rrecommendations for the research communitythe scientific opinion includes recommendations for future scientific studies on HPAI vaccines in terms of the types of vaccines that should be developed and for which bird species, the aspects of the vaccines that should be investigated and the type of studies that should be carried out. cape.
It can be consulted at This link the full opinion of the EFSA.
2023-10-10 07:36:37
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