US laying hen producers, turkey growers and dairy cattle farmers are stepping up pressure on the American administration to authorise vaccination of production poultry and dairy cows in order to protect them from avian influenza (AI) infections that have devastated flocks and herds over the past three years.

In 2024, the North American poultry sector is facing for the first time a dual infection risk from dairy farm operations and migratory birds that can spread the disease.

AI, which is lethal to domestic poultry and reduces milk production in dairy cows, has wiped out more than 100 million chickens and turkeys since 2022 in the largest epizootic ever recorded in the United States.

The spillover of the virus into livestock across 14 states and infections in 13 workers on dairy and poultry farms this year have raised concerns among scientists and federal officials about the risks to humans of further spread.

This is the position put forward by the “United Egg Producers“, the “National Turkey Federation“, the “NMPF” and the “IDFA“, the country’s leading egg, turkey and dairy producer organisations, in a letter sent on 16 August to US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, stating that the economic cost of the outbreak justifies vaccine development, as it is clear that the current situation shows no end in sight.

Source:
-. Letter to The Honorable Thomas J. Vilsack, Secretary United States Department of Agriculture
Subject: Urgent development of H5Nx vaccines for dairy cows, turkeys and egg-laying hens