04 Sep From crisis to strategy: how are we responding to avian influenza in 2026?

Animal health is a strategic priority at the intersection of food, trade, health and security

During the 93^rd General Session of the World Assembly of Delegates, held from 18^th to 22^nd May 2026 in Paris, the World Organisation for Animal Health emphasized that animal disease outbreaks are becoming more frequent, more complex, and harder to contain: transboundary animal diseases resurge and zoonotic diseases, including high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI), spread across species and geographies threateningly. The current global situation of avian flu has been reviewed, as the infection is still a major global concern for public health. It is interesting how Dr. Emmanuelle Soubeyran, Director General of WOAH, stressed the importance of the present moment, in her opening speech. In fact, after years of hesitation, the world is now finding itself at a crossroads.

Biological threats remain persistent, making prevention more important than ever: investing in prevention means avoiding future pandemics. Yet, investments are still totally inadequate to meet the needs for effective prevention - animal health receives just 0.6% of global health spending - and that’s why WOAH has been making great efforts to remind members that in the fragile world we are living in, animal health can no longer be seen as technical niche concern, as the effects of animal diseases are cascading.

Stronger prevention needs vs. dangerously low investment realities: are we ready to stop ignoring this conflict?

While investment is currently dangerously limited compared to the need, adequate spending would yield significant savings in comparison with the cost of a pandemic resulting from a failure to invest in prevention. Nevertheless, no single actor can make it alone. At WOAH, this universal truth is well-known: the success stories that were shown during the latest General Session are examples of what sustained, well-designed investments in animal health systems deliver and confirm not only that things must and can change, but also that that investing in prevention is more cost-effective than paying for pandemics.

WOAH has updated its standards on trade and created a whole new chapter on biosecurity to better control avian influenza. The organization emphasizes that effective prevention must start before birds reach live poultry markets and calls for targeted, science‑based, One Health measures to reduce disease risks while protecting local economies, which also means eliminating the stigma that is attached to wet markets.

Case studies: pilot vaccination plans in Italy and in the Netherlands

The successful French initiative has inspired other countries including Italy and the Netherlands that are now running pilot vaccination programmes.

In Italy, where HPAI outbreak brought the entire poultry industry to its knees in 2021/22, three broiler turkey farms (province of Verona) and two laying hen farms (province of Mantua) are being involved in the pilot. Its aim is not to test “whether avian flu vaccines work” (they are already authorized at European level), but the logistical readiness to carry out a vaccination campaign: how farms record vaccinations, how vaccinated animals and products are traced, and how surveillance systems detect possible infections.

Thanks to the features of the vaccines used in the project, diagnostic tests can help distinguish a vaccinated bird from an infected one. By looking for parts of the virus that are not present in the vaccine, any real infection can be identified and discriminated from vaccine-induced immunity.

Stronger prevention doesn’t mean vaccination only. Although it is the most important disease prevention weapon, the implementation of more tools is still necessary. In Italy, where most poultry farms are located right along major wild bird migration routes (Veneto and Lombardy), building resilient animal health systems implies proper poultry placement scheduling to limit exposure to viruses. With a 150‑day production cycle, turkeys can be managed efficiently, since the flock is harvested before HPAI typically begins to spread (5 months of production followed by 1 month of downtime, twice per year). Laying hens, on the other hand, have a longer practical lifespan (about 500-520 days), with no breaks, and demand stronger veterinary services, early detection and rapid response to disease.

In the Netherlands, the Wageningen University & Research, Royal GD, Wageningen Bioveterinary Research and Utrecht University, have recently published results of a field trial on two commercial layer farms aiming at evaluating protection across the entire production cycle - something no previous study had done.

Chicks received an avian flu vaccination (AI), as well as all standard Dutch hatchery vaccinations, at day 0 of hatch; in one test group, a booster vaccination was also provided at 12 weeks of age. The control group remained unvaccinated. Birds were monitored under field conditions all the time, from hatch through end of lay. Four controlled challenge infections (HPAI H5N1, clade 2.3.4.4b) were applied at 8, 24, 54 and 84 weeks of age.

Across all four challenge ages, AI-vaccinated groups showed 0% mortality, including at 84 weeks, when susceptibility is very high. The booster group consistently displayed lower clinical signs and reduced viral shedding. Additionally, vaccination reduced within flock transmission significantly, although a theoretical potential for transmission still existed. In contrast, the non‑vaccinated control group showed increasing morbidity with age, reaching >90% clinically ill birds at 84 weeks, while mortality rose to 12.4% and R number was >6 in adult hens.

What this field trial ultimately shows is that vaccination against avian flu is safe, compatible with commercial production vaccination schedules, and limits disease spreading. However, alone it might not fully stop within-flock transmission, so a combined strategy of booster vaccination and active surveillance including testing, on top of existing biosecurity measures, is a robust, evidence-based, strategy for effective long term control of avian influenza that can halt the onward transmission, within the flock, poultry flocks, and humans.

Final considerations

Most countries are considering recent studies carefully. Although the use of vaccination against avian flu in poultry is still the choice of each nation, nobody can ignore that vaccines transform HPAI from a catastrophic event into a manageable, non-lethal infection.

By Giulia Faè
Area Manager (Italy & Ticino)
and technical writer at Socorex

Main sources

Talks at Avian Flu Conference in Rimini (Italy) in April 2026

1. 93rd General Session of the World Assembly of Delegates

2. How WOAH's new and revised chapters ensure better control of avian influenza - WOAH - World Organization for Animal Health

3. The State of the World’s Animal Health:

4. Ministero della Salute - Influenza aviaria - Piano pilota di vaccinazione negli allevamenti avicoli

5. Aviaria, programmazione degli accasamenti di tacchini - Anmvi Oggi | Quotidiano dell' Associazione Nazionale Medici Veterinari Italiani

6. Dispositivo_con_progetto_pilota_vaccinazione_hpai_definitivo_05052026.pdf

7. Vaccination of poultry with HVT-based H5 vaccine against highly pathogenic avian influenza | Wageningen University & Research

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