Two bird flu vaccines to be tested at Dutch poultry farms this summer

The Netherlands is one step closer to vaccinating poultry against bird flu, Minister Piet Adema of Agriculture said in a letter to parliament. A trial by Wageningen Bioveterinary Research identified two vaccines that protect against bird flu symptoms and prevent the virus's spread. A field trial in real stables will start at poultry farms this summer, he said.

The Wageningen University research institute studied four vaccines for the Ministry of Agriculture, testing them on a small group of young chickens in a controlled environment in Lelystad. Two of the four vaccines proved effective against the H5N1 variant of the bird flu virus, which has been circulating in Dutch poultry farms for about 18 months.

In the summer, the two vaccines will be tested in real stables at one or two poultry farms to see if they are also effective in practice. Different stable climates, vaccinations against other diseases, and circulating germs, among other things, could all impact how well the vaccine works.

The field trial will take over a year, with the first results expected by the end of 2023.