Bird flu vaccine gets ‘conditional license’ from USDA, company announces
A New Jersey pharmaceutical company, Zoetis, has recently been granted a “conditional license” for its bird flu vaccine designed for use in chickens. The vaccine specifically targets the H5N2 subtype of avian influenza, which has been identified in both poultry and humans. This development comes as a response to the ongoing avian influenza outbreak in the U.S., which has affected over 150 million birds since February 2022.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Center for Veterinary Biologics (CVB) issued the license for Zoetis’ bird flu vaccine. According to Mahesh Kumar, Ph.D., Zoetis’ senior vice president of global biologics research and development, the company began working on avian influenza vaccines back in 2001 and 2002 during outbreaks in Southeast Asia. This recent conditional license follows Zoetis’ previous success with an H5N1 vaccine in 2016, which was used to protect California condors.
Despite the positive news, a Zoetis spokesperson clarified that the bird flu vaccine is not yet available for commercial use. The decision to vaccinate commercial poultry flocks will be made by national regulatory authorities in consultation with the local poultry sector.
Jacob Glanville, CEO and president of Centivax, a biotechnology company in San Francisco, praised Zoetis’ vaccine as a crucial tool for suppressing the global H5N1 outbreak and safeguarding farmers’ economic interests. Glanville emphasized the importance of vaccinating animal populations to prevent further spread of the virus.
However, Glanville also pointed out a limitation of the H5N2 vaccine, stating that it is “heavily mismatched” to the circulating strain. This mismatch could potentially lead to immune escape and perpetuation of transmission. Despite this concern, the vaccination of bird flocks remains a vital strategy in controlling the spread of avian influenza.
In the United States, there have been a total of 68 reported cases of human bird flu, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As efforts continue to combat the avian influenza outbreak, Zoetis’ bird flu vaccine represents a significant step towards protecting both poultry and humans from the virus.
For more health-related articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health. Fox News Digital has reached out to the USDA for additional comments on this development. Melissa Rudy, a senior health editor and member of the lifestyle team at Fox News Digital, can be contacted for story tips at melissa.rudy@fox.com.
