Bird flu has ravaged American poultry. Now a vaccine could be on the way

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Bird flu struck two of Pete Klaphakes’ turkey farms last year, one after the other. He lost over 100,000 turkeys, a staggering number that hit Klaphake, his family and their employees hard.

There were tears. There was frustration, he said. There was kind of, what did I do? How could I let this happen? I failed. That sort of thing.

On the Klaphakes farm near Sauk Center in central Minnesota, a sign on the barn door warns that biosecurity measures are in effect. These measures include changing boots each time Klaphake and his employees enter a different barn.

You do what you can to make sure that doesn’t happen, but there are also things that are beyond your control, he said.

Third-generation turkey farmer Pete Klaphake raises 1.7 million turkeys a year on his farm in Sauk Center, Minn. Photo by Paul Middlestaedt

While the US Department of Agriculture says bird flu cases have slowed nationwide, officials are working to develop a vaccine to protect commercial poultry. Researchers are testing eight potential vaccines for commercial poultry at the Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory in Georgia.

We must have it in our toolbox, right? In case things get worse, said Alecia Naugle, associate assistant administrator of veterinary services at the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Some of the vaccines being tested by the USDA were developed but never used in 2015 during the last major outbreak of bird flu, Naugle said, which affected more than 50 million commercial chickens and turkeys.

The United States has bird flu vaccines. Why aren’t they used?

During the 2014-2015 bird flu epidemic, USDA researchers conducted trials to find a vaccine that would work against the strain of bird flu circulating in the United States.

Officials identified an effective vaccine and a company worked with them to license it. But before the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) could approve it for commercial use, the bird flu outbreak subsided.

Paul Middlestaedt, [email protected]

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Third-generation turkey farmer Pete Klaphake raises 1.7 million turkeys a year on his farm in Sauk Center, Minn. Photo by Paul Middlestaedt

Recently, USDA APHIS approved emergency use for a 2015 bird flu vaccine for use in critically endangered California condors after more than a dozen deaths and confirmation of bird flu.

But the agency has not given approval for an avian flu vaccine to be used in commercial poultry.

Some of the vaccines available now, we don’t know how well they’ll protect against the current strain, Naugle said.

For now, the agency continues to promote biosecurity as the best practice to reduce the spread of bird flu.

The important thing is to increase biosecurity measures and see if that’s how we can continue to control its spread without going the vaccination route, Naugle said. But we have to be prepared.

Potential business complications

If researchers develop a vaccine that proves effective, there could be a big downside, experts say, it would be harder to spot signs of bird flu among vaccinated poultry.

We wouldn’t be as likely to see sick birds, Naugle said, or see birds dying.

And if the detection of bird flu were more difficult in vaccinated birds, other countries could refuse American poultry, which would complicate trade. This is a major concern for the USDA, growers and industry groups.

Although only a small percentage of eggs and turkey produced in the United States are exported to other countries, Greg Tyler, president and CEO of the US Poultry and Egg Export Council, said that 20% of chickens at grilling products in the United States are exported.

If vaccines were to go through without careful planning and without working with our trading partners to make sure we have agreements in place, that if vaccinations were to start that we would still be able to export, we’re talking about 6, $2 billion loss just on the export side, Tyler said.

USDA officials say if a vaccine were developed, it would only be used in targeted areas where bird flu was spreading rapidly.

But industry groups still fear that even if only a small portion of birds in isolated locations are vaccinated, trading partners will still ban all poultry exports. That’s why the National Chicken Council is against the use of a bird flu vaccine, spokesman Tom Super said in an email.

Broiler chickens accounted for only about 5% of birds affected during this outbreak, Super pointed out, but they make up a significant portion of US exports.

The U.S. poultry industry that least needs a vaccine would be most at risk using one, he said.

Third-generation turkey farmer Pete Klaphake raises 1.7 million turkeys a year on his farm in Sauk Center, Minn. Photo by Paul Middlestaedt

Yesterday might have been better

USDA vaccine trials are scheduled to wrap up in August. In the best-case scenario, the agency says a vaccine could be available in 18 to 24 months.

If bird flu remains at reduced levels, the USDA is unlikely to push for vaccination.

At present, the cost of using a vaccine, both in lost market for international trade and the cost of actually applying the vaccine, far exceeds anything we think we will gain in l using, said USDA Naugle.

With increased difficulty in spotting the disease, Naugle said there may be a need to develop a test to detect between a vaccinated bird and a sick bird. But increased testing and surveillance would likely be costly.

And American consumers could also be affected.

Jada Thompson, an economist at the University of Arkansas, said consumers can expect to pay more for chicken, turkey or eggs at the grocery store if commercial birds were to be vaccinated.

If you add something to a production system, the costs are going to go up, Thompson said. And there is no headroom to eat at this price.

Still, Thompson said that was largely hypothetical. As the epidemic wanes, a vaccine may not arrive quickly enough to combat the current strain of bird flu.

Pete Klaphake shows off a handful of food used for his turkeys. Although the turkey producer is aware that there would be risks with a vaccine, he still wants a vaccine to be developed.

Back at his central Minnesota turkey farm, Pete Klaphake says a vaccine would have been great to have last year.

Yesterday probably would have been better, Klaphake said, but I understand it’s a process. I mean it’s a huge process.

This story was produced in partnership with Harvest Public Media, a collaboration of public media newsrooms in the Midwest. It reports on food systems, agriculture and rural issues.

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