UK rejects vaccinating birds despite flu outbreak

LONDON, Feb 9 (Reuters) A British government agency says it will not order preventive flu vaccination for birds, despite pressure from some organic farmers five days after the H5N1 bird flu virus hit Britain's domestic poultry flock.

''We don't see vaccination as 100 per cent effective,'' a Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

''You have to vaccinate every single bird and even then a vaccinated bird can catch the virus and become a carrier without showing any symptoms.'' Six countries have banned British poultry imports after the outbreak was confirmed on a turkey farm in southeastern England on Saturday.

The decision puts the onus back on farmers, some of whom want to vaccinate their birds but fear that unless vaccination is widespread, they will be at a competitive disadvantage because some export markets shun vaccinated poultry.

''I think that many organic and free-range producers who are committed to their birds would have their birds vaccinated,'' said Richard Sanders, head of Policy at Elm Farm Research Centre, a leading UK organic farming research and advisory body.

Britain's farm ministry argues that flu vaccines for birds can mask the effects of the disease and make it more difficult to tackle its spread among the poultry population.

Defra said that in such a scenario the vaccination would in effect help spread the virus, instead of preventing it.

Last year, the European Union allowed Europe's two largest poultry producers, France and the Netherlands, to vaccinate hens, ducks, geese against H5N1.

But farmers in both countries mostly opted not to vaccinate, fearing that importing countries would refuse to buy their meat and eggs because of possible consumer health risk worries.

''Nothing has changed since last year, farmers don't want to vaccinate. Germany is our main market and German consumers don't want to buy vaccinated meat and eggs,'' said Jan Wolleswinkel, chairman of the main Dutch poultry farmers union.

Preventive vaccination, a long-term measure, must be based on a risk assessment carried out by national experts, and is subject to strict surveillance rules for vaccinated birds.

The meat and products of vaccinated poultry can only be moved or traded if accompanied by a veterinary certificate to show that they have come from a healthy virus-free bird.

''We support the strategic use of vaccination in the event of any prolonged and multiple outbreaks of high-pathogenic bird flu in the UK - something we've consistently lobbied Defra to adopt,'' Robin Maynard, communications director at the Soil Association, Britain's leading organic certification body, said.

''At present, the evidence doesn't confirm that bird flu is endemic in the UK, and so until that changes we support Defra's stamping out policy as implemented at Bernard Matthews' intensive turkey plant,'' Maynard.

European Union veterinary experts advised national authorities on Tuesday to keep poultry indoors in recognised high-risk bird flu areas but decided against widespread vaccination of flocks for now.

Europe's poultry sector has a turnover of around 20 billion euros a year. EU-25 produces 11 million tonnes of poultry meat a year, exporting one million.

REUTERS MS PM0835