New vaccine trials are a 'significant step forward' in the battle against bird flu |
The targeted 24-week study, launched this week, will assess how effectively vaccines can protect turkeys against highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).
Outbreaks in recent years have devastated poultry businesses across the country - particularly in East Anglia, which has a high concentration of chicken, turkey and duck farms.
Hundreds of thousands of birds have been killed in "heartbreaking" bird flu culls, and a mandatory national housing order has been enforced requiring captive birds and free-range poultry to be kept indoors.
Annual outbreaks are estimated to cost the UK government and industry up to £174m each year - prompting calls for faster progress in rolling out bird flu vaccines to stop the virus sweeping through East Anglia's poultry farms.
The new trials will focus on turkeys, which are highly susceptible to avian influenza. Researchers aim to provide "valuable insight into how well vaccines work in the field, how surveillance can be managed to retain trade and how vaccines can help manage the disease".
Biosecurity minister Baroness Hayman said: "We know what a terrible toll this disease has annually on our farmers and poultry sector.
"The start of new vaccine trials are a significant step forward in our fight against this disease and will contribute to global research efforts. We are hopeful vaccines can be used in the UK as an additional tool to control bird flu to protect the UK’s biosecurity and food supply."
Christine Middlemiss, the UK's chief veterinary officer, said: "This targeted trial is going to be really key for our understanding of how HPAI vaccines can be effectively used for disease control in the UK. They have the potential to be a really valuable additional tool in helping us protect birds from infection.
"Stringent biosecurity will always remain our best defence and I urge all bird keepers to continue to take the steps needed to prevent avian influenza spreading onto their premises."
The trial will evaluate how vaccines could be "safely and effectively integrated into the UK’s disease control strategy, generate data on vaccine efficacy and contribute to the growing international body of research on HPAI vaccination".
Vaccinating poultry against bird flu is not currently allowed more widely in the UK.
But the potential benefits of HPAI vaccination are being considered in other European countries, with ongoing trials of vaccines under way in Italy and the Netherlands.