The French Presidency of the Council of the EU transmitted, on Tuesday 12 April, draft conclusions on the usefulness of launching a European strategy for the vaccination of birds against avian influenza. Delegations from EU countries are invited to send their written comments on the draft.
The subject of vaccination against avian influenza, as a complementary tool to combat outbreaks of avian influenza, was raised at the last Agriculture Council on 7 April in Luxembourg (see EUROPE 12928/23).
The draft conclusions call on the European Commission and the Member States “to step up their efforts in order to develop and implement vaccination for the prevention and control of avian influenza”.
The text insists on the development of “safe and efficient” vaccines, which provide sufficient immunity against circulating strains of the virus, are easy to administer, are compatible with current farming practices in the EU and preferably allow for differentiating infected from vaccinated animals.
On the trade side, the draft conclusions advise starting a dialogue with the EU’s trading partners and promoting discussions within the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) with a view to developing international standards to “facilitate safe trade, also building on the concepts of regionalisation and compartmentalisation”.
Vaccination could strengthen preventive measures against avian influenza and help reduce the risk of the virus spreading among domestic birds.
Furthermore, it could eventually contribute to reducing the preventive culling of a large number of healthy birds in the fight against outbreaks, which is in line with citizens’ expectations.
Link to the draft conclusions (French and English): https://aeur.eu/f/19s (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)