Bird flu fight pins hopes on vaccine

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is set to start the rollout of the country's first vaccine against avian influenza (AI), also known as bird flu, following the approval of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its commercial use.

- BY DEXTER BARRO II

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel announced that the FDA has approved Volvac BEST AI + ND, which is developed by German pharmaceutical firm Boehringer Ingelheim.

"With the FDA's approval...the poultry sector now has a strong line of defense against a virus that threatens both food security and human health," he said, noting its importance to the government's food security efforts.

Tiu Laurel said the vaccine is a major boost to the poultry industry as it not only provides immunity against the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) subtype H5N1 but also stimulates birds' immune system to defend against velogenic Newcastle disease (ND).