| Project Detail |
Tackling avian flu with vaccination
Once rare and localised, outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIV) in Europe have recently surged, impacting both domestic poultry and wild birds across the continent. The increasing frequency and widespread nature of these outbreaks have socio-economic repercussions. Traditional prevention methods are inadequate as the virus continues to spread rapidly. In response, vaccination is now being considered. With the support of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions programme, the VIVACE project aims to integrate poultry vaccination into effective management strategies for HPAIV. The project will explore how EU vaccination policies influence virus evolution and control. Involving universities and private companies, VIVACE will combine expertise in virology, epidemiology, and social sciences to develop comprehensive solutions.
While outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIV) in Europe used to be rare and geographically contained, the situation has dramatically changed in the last few years with thousands of outbreaks reported in domestic poultry and wild birds. Despite being an intensive field of research, many unknowns remain as we are still struggling to predict HPAIV emergence, avoid viral spread and limit the socio-economic impact entailed predominantly by control measures. Vaccination of domestic poultry against avian influenza, is now being given full consideration, as it is becoming clear that traditional prevention and control approaches alone will not curb the accelerating pace of occurrence of devastating HPAIV epidemics. On 1 October 2023, France became the first EU country to implement a nation-wide vaccination campaign in ducks. However, vaccinating domestic poultry does not come without important challenges. VIVACE therefore aims at putting together a doctoral network to contribute to fully integrate poultry vaccination approaches into efficient management strategies for HPAIV. We will do so by unravelling the impact current and upcoming EU vaccination policies will have on avian influenza virus evolution, surveillance and control strategies and societal burden of HPAI. This will be done through a combination of disciplines from life sciences, epidemiology, computer sciences and social and behavioural sciences. The training program proposed here includes scientific and transferrable skill sessions, builds on the integrated added values of complementing expertise (virology, immunology, modelling, spatial and molecular epidemiology, social psychology, economics and policy), and full access to state-of-the-art technologies in excellent environments. The consortium gathers 15 universities or research institutes and 5 private companies, securing both inter-sectoriality and wide geographic distribution with tailored epidemiological and vaccination contexts. |
