The threat of avian flu is no longer an issue that only affects veterinarians, as it has also appeared on the European public health agenda. And Spain is very interested in it, since the latest data from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) indicates that our country is one of the three European regions, along with Norway and Croatia, to start a human vaccination campaign against the influenza A virus.
The report After ECDC’s current map of zoonotic vaccination in Europe published earlier this month and survey of 30 EU countries, the panorama is uneven, as eight countries already have national recommendations, eight are developing them and eleven lack plans. And here Spain enters the group who will start their campaign in the short term, but with subtlety.
And, while vaccination recommendations in the rest of Europe apply to all people in risk groups such as livestock farmers, slaughterhouse workers or veterinarians, Spain has restricted the fence. Here, our country limits prophylaxis to only those exposed professionals who have an underlying medical condition that may increase their risk of contracting a stronger flu.
Some are supported. This conservative position is partly in line with the ECDC, which currently considers that the scientific evidence is insufficient to support widespread vaccination across the EU, leaving it to an “optional complementary measure” for exposed workers.
Vaccination The weapon of choice for this preventive campaign is Zoonotic influenza vaccine siciraswhich has been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) since October 2023 In this case, the goal is to vaccinate against the most predominant strain in global circulation
However, the problem reflected in its technical sheet is that it does not have an important limitation There is an established protective immune marker for influenza A due to the H5 subtype, and it is unknown how long protection lasts after the primary procedure.
result These seem promising, since protection in previously unvaccinated people reaches a very high level. In addition, antibodies capable of neutralizing virus strains detected in Finnish fur farms and cattle in the United States were developed.
the challenge Getting the vaccine is only half the battle, as the target population still needs to be convinced to get vaccinated. In this case, the available data comes to us from Finland and here only 8.6% of the population came to receive the first dose and only 7.5% completed the entire procedure.
In Spain, the bureaucratic and occupational health apparatus is already in place. As a reference, we have the report of the Center for Coordination of Health Precautions and Emergencies related to the 2025-2026 season, which indicates that no human cases of indigenous avian flu have been diagnosed in Spain. However, circulation among animals is intense, with 188 outbreaks identified, and most among wild birds.
Picture | Polina Tankilevich
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