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First field trial for H5N1 cattle vaccine authorized
Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says the USDA will allow field safety trials of H5N1 vaccines in dairy cattle.
Vilsack says he doesn’t expect the trials to disrupt trade. “The expectation is that there won’t be quite the level of concern as there is in poultry and the reason being that dairy cows and cattle generally are vaccinated for a lot of things and are engaged and involved in a lot of different medicines being applied,” he says.
During this week’s Farm Progress Show, Vilsack told reporters that he expects other obstacles. “The challenge is getting a vaccine that works, getting it to a vaccine that’s safe,” he says. “Sometimes you can do that quickly. Sometimes it takes a while.”
He says getting to the field trial step has happened a lot quicker than usual, but that doesn’t mean it will be commercially available anytime soon. “The drug that would be applied is going to be a non-live virus, so that’s a challenge,” he says. “It’s just really to determine its safety. So there’s still a lot of work yet to be done, but it’s an important and significant step forward.”
The USDA’s Center for Veterinary Biologics posted the notice Wednesday evening.
Since March, more than 190 dairy herds in 13 states have tested positive for the virus.
