As highly pathogenic avian influenza continues to circulate globally, more countries are exploring vaccination as a complement to biosecurity. While approaches vary widely, presentations at the World Egg Organisation (WEO) conference in Warsaw, Poland, showed vaccination is moving beyond discussion to implementation in several countries, with lessons emerging from commercial programs already underway.

Ben Dellaert, chair of the WEO’s Avian Influenza Global Expert Group and director of the Dutch poultry association AVINED, opened the conference’s HPAI session with a global avian influenza overview. In 2025, notified cases were widespread across Europe, Asia and parts of Africa and South America. Winter 2025 was particularly challenging in Europe, marked by a high number of cases driven by migratory birds.

A rise in cases wasn’t the only change. Dellaert presented World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) data showing the seasonal peak shifted from January and February to November. Olivier Espeisse, an HPAI consultant working for WEO, said wild bird pressure also increased sharply, adding that because outbreaks have shifted between species, the virus is becoming more difficult to predict.

U.S. moves toward a plan

Currently, a small but growing number of countries are vaccinating against HPAI, including France, Vietnam, the Philippines and Algeria. China has also vaccinated poultry against H5 and H7 since 2017.

The United States, which historically opposed vaccination because of the potential impact on its broiler export market, could soon be added to that list. The push is not surprising. Since 2022, more than 160 million layers have been lost to HPAI, and according to Mickey Rubin, vice-president of research at the American Egg Board and executive director of the Egg Nutrition Center, indemnity costs have totalled $1.5 billion.

Frustrated by repeated losses and the widespread assumption that vaccination was politically untouchable, a group of American egg producers convened a working group at the International Production & Processing Expo in Atlanta in January 2025.

“Instead of just the status quo of, ‘Oh, vaccination will never happen, there’s too many difficulties, too many trade barriers,’” Rubin said. “This group of producers really showed leadership by saying, ‘We have to at least start the conversation.’”

By April 2025, the group, which included Craig Rowles of Versova, Travis Schaal of Forsman Farms, David Swayne, former director of the USDA Agricultural Research Service Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory, and John Clifford of the U.S. Poultry & Egg Export Council, had completed a detailed vaccination proposal. Clifford’s inclusion was deliberate, Rubin said, because it ensured the broiler sector had a voice from the outset.

The resulting plan proposes a zone-based rollout in defined high-risk states, covering laying hens and potentially turkeys. Broilers have been explicitly excluded. The proposal calls for a two-shot protocol using existing licensed vaccines, with a prime dose at the hatchery followed by a booster between seven and 15 weeks. Products from vaccinated birds would remain in the domestic market unless otherwise negotiated with trading partners. Surveillance would use the existing National Poultry Improvement Plan infrastructure, with pooled samples tested every 14 days. Rubin estimated surveillance costs at less than $1 per hen.

Instead of adopting the industry’s proposal, the USDA developed one of its own before sending it to the working group for feedback. Rubin described the two plans as “highly compatible.” A more detailed pilot proposal has since been submitted to the USDA, but approval has not yet been granted.

“We are currently at a standstill,” Rubin said.

Asked whether USDA staffing and budget reductions could pose a risk to surveillance capacity, Rubin acknowledged the challenge.

“I’m not going to lie, that’s probably going to be a challenge.”

He also expressed concern about continued opposition from the broiler sector but remained optimistic.

“If the international community continues to advance, hopefully that will force the United States to continue to advance,” he said.

France: Three seasons in

France offers the clearest example of how vaccination can work in commercial production. The country began mandatory HPAI vaccination in ducks on Oct. 1, 2023, becoming the first in Europe to implement the practice nationally. The program is now entering its third season.

According to Marie Laborde, deputy director of CIFOG, the French interprofessional committee representing foie gras and goose producers, France recorded 1,354 outbreaks on poultry farms during the 2021-22 season before vaccination. About 22 million birds were culled, costing the industry an estimated €800 million in state compensation. During the two seasons following vaccination, outbreaks dropped to 10 and then 15.

The 2025-26 season, however, tested the program under exceptional conditions. More than 40 primary introductions from wildlife were recorded, driven by unusually intense wild bird activity in November 2025. France recorded 121 outbreaks and 1.7 million birds culled that season, with 40 per cent of losses occurring among vaccinated ducks.

“The conclusion is clear,” she said. “Vaccination is not being questioned.”

Pilots, recommendations and a shift in thinking

Other countries remain at earlier stages.

In the Netherlands, an experimental challenge trial that began in September 2023 produced encouraging early results, although full data had not yet been published at the time of Dellaert’s presentation. A separate pilot vaccinating day-old chicks at the hatchery began in March 2025, with eggs from those birds now marketed domestically under European Union-compliant surveillance.

In Italy, the Padova reference centre has recommended vector vaccines for turkeys based on its own trials. A proposal to vaccinate layers and turkeys in three northern regions has been postponed over concerns about managing a regional-only rollout.

The United Kingdom has begun a turkey trial using a vector vaccine and booster. Japan, historically opposed to vaccination, is also developing a preventive vaccination plan, according to Espeisse.

Ben Dellaert outlined global HPAI trends and the growing role of vaccination.
Photo: World Egg Organisation

Trade and governance catch up

Vaccination’s expansion is prompting new work on the surveillance and trade rules needed to support it. At WOAH, a group led by David Swayne is developing guidance on surveillance under vaccination, with a target completion date of mid-2027, alongside separate guidance on compensating farmers for HPAI losses.

The European Union has proposed a new surveillance regulation that would ease weekly testing requirements introduced earlier. The European Parliament is reviewing the proposal. A coalition including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the European Commission and Canada had also planned a side event during the WOAH General Session focused on reducing trade barriers associated with vaccination.

Biosecurity, once considered sufficient on its own, is increasingly viewed as one part of a broader HPAI control strategy. Whether that shift leads to wider vaccine adoption will depend largely on surveillance systems and, perhaps more importantly, how trading partners respond.

Canada is preparing a commercial turkey HPAI vaccination trial in Manitoba.

Canada’s first commercial HPAI vaccination trial is taking shape, though officials stress it remains in the planning phase.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has outlined a confined field trial for 2026-28 on two Manitoba poultry farms to assess logistics and effectiveness.

“These international experiences are helping inform Canada’s approach to HPAI vaccination,” CFIA said, adding no decision has been made on broader use. “Lessons learned from the trial will inform how a potential vaccination program could be implemented.”

CFIA also highlighted limits to vaccination. “Even when vaccinated, birds may still become infected with HPAI,” it said, noting surveillance is “complex and costly” and requires frequent sampling, specialized testing and full traceability.

Trade remains a key hurdle, as many importing countries restrict products from vaccinated flocks. CFIA said it is briefing trading partners in advance to help protect market access.

The original turkey farm selected is no longer available. “It sold,” said Darren Ference, chair of Turkey Farmers of Canada. A new site near CFIA’s Winnipeg lab is being finalized.

“There’s no specific timeline,” Ference said, though he supports moving ahead when ready. He added the sector is shifting its stance on biosecurity alone: “We acknowledge that we need to look further...

Canadian Poultry Magazine

Message History

Delivery option(s)