A trial vaccine against the bird flu was “100 percent effective on chickens” and is now being tested on turkeys, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told lawmakers. “Cross your fingers and hope it’s 100 percent effective for them,” he said. A reliable vaccine would give the USDA a new tool in case of another outbreak this fall. The epidemic that hit the Midwest and the Pacific Northwest resulted in losses of 48.1 million domestic fowl, mostly turkeys and egg-laying hens – the worst losses ever to the disease. Egg production is forecast to drop by 5 percent this year as a result.
“I’m pretty impressed with the fact that in a relatively short period of time, we’ve come a long way,” said Vilsack during a House Agriculture Committee hearing. Seven weeks ago, the USDA said the best vaccine on hand was 60-percent effective on chickens. “That’s not good enough. You’ve got to get close to 100 percent,” Vilsack said during the hearing.
If the trials are successful, the seed strain would be used by drug companies to make millions of doses of vaccine for stockpiling. Experts say the disease, which can wipe out a flock in 48 hours, could re-emerge during the fall migration of birds. Wild waterfowl are believed to have spread the disease in their droppings during the spring migration.
Vilsack said the USDA would be ready to simultaneously handle 500 outbreaks this fall. Department officials gave a similar figure at a Senate hearing last week. This spring’s epidemic hit 223 flocks but did not reach the Southeast, the heart of broiler chicken production.
The USDA will meet industry officials and state veterinarians next week to discuss how to improve biosecurity as a shield against the spread of bird flu. Environmental factors and biosecurity lapses played roles in the epidemic, says the USDA. And it is looking for the most efficient way to humanely kill infected flocks as a way to isolate the virus. Some poultry farms have millions of birds.
Some $190 million has been paid in indemnities to poultry owners whose flocks were hit by the disease, and $300 million was earmarked to help pay for cleaning and disinfecting poultry barns. Because some farmers own barns but feed chickens under contract, Vilsack said the USDA was looking at possible ways to direct clean-up money to the feeder.
A key obstacle to the use of a vaccine is the possibility that billions of dollars in export sales would be lost, at least temporarily, while overseas markets conduct a risk assessment. The USDA is working with trading partners to avert a shutdown, but “that’s still an open question,” said Vilsack.