A new study warns that vaccinating poultry against bird influenza reduces the spread of the disease, but it may have unintended consequences. The study concluded that vaccination against the H5 subtype of the bird influenza virus may lead to mutations in the virus.
The study was conducted by researchers at the Center for Global Change and Public Health – Beijing Normal University in China, and the Department of Pathology and Population Sciences – the Royal Veterinary College in the United Kingdom, and its results were published in the journal Science Advances on January 22, and the magazine wrote about it. American Newsweek.
The researchers found that transmission of the virus from wild birds to unvaccinated poultry was more common than transmission to vaccinated poultry, indicating that vaccination helps stop the spread of the disease, but they also found that countries where poultry are vaccinated against H5 bird influenza, especially China , witnessed a faster rate of virus mutation compared to countries where poultry are not vaccinated.
There are concerns that the H5N1 avian influenza virus will mutate to be able to transmit from one human to another, which has not been observed so far. H5N1 is a type of H5 avian influenza virus, which is currently causing outbreaks of bird influenza throughout the United States.
Many countries around the world are vaccinating poultry against H5 avian influenza viruses, especially in areas where the virus is endemic or where there is a high risk of outbreaks.