The European Union (EU)'s veterinary experts discussed on
Tuesday proposals of France and the Netherlands that poultry
vaccinations should be used to fight bird flu.
Paris and The Hague presented plans at a meeting of EU
veterinary experts on conducting targeted preventive vaccination
campaigns on certain poultry to fight against highly pathogenic
H5N1 avian flu virus.
EU experts discussed the technical and scientific details of the
plans, which, if go ahead, would be the first vaccination programs
against the lethal H5N1 virus in the EU. The discussions will
continue Wednesday morning.
The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, said in a press
release that it will, on the basis of the experts' discussions,
consider the plans and lay down specific conditions that must be
met in applying them.
France, one of the eight EU states where dead wild birds had
tested positive for H5N1 virus, has set aside € 730 million (US$876
million) to fight the virus and says it is prepared to vaccinate
some 900,000 birds.
The Dutch plan entails vaccinating hobby poultry and free-range
laying hens throughout the whole country. The vaccination will be
provided on a voluntary basis, as an alternative to the requirement
that these birds be kept indoors.
But the vaccination issue has divided Europe with the European
Commission.
EU health commissioner Markos Kyprianou has questioned the
effectiveness of vaccinations.
"The question is to make sure that the benefits (of
vaccinations) outweigh the costs," the commissioner told
reporters.
"The use of poultry vaccines to guard against the spread of H5N1
bird flu will inflict huge costs on poultry farmers and cause undue
distress to poultry," conservative agriculture spokesman in the
European parliament, Neil Parish weighed in.
(Xinhua News Agency February 22, 2006)
