20 May 2026
In a decisive shift toward proactive disease management, Italy has officially initiated a pilot vaccination program targeting Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). The strategic move, orchestrated by the Directorate-General for Animal Health and Veterinary Medicines of the Italian Ministry of Health, marks a significant departure from traditional "stamping out" policies and aligns with an accelerating European momentum toward HPAI vaccination.
The Italian pilot project, technically supported by the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie (IZSVe), the national reference laboratory for avian influenza, is deployed in high-risk, poultry-dense areas within the Veneto and Lombardy regions. The initiative specifically targets the turkey sector, which has historically borne the brunt of severe H5N1 epidemics. Under strict regulatory frameworks, the trial employs an emergency vaccination protocol coupled with an intensive "Differentiating Infected from Vaccinated Animals" (DIVA) surveillance strategy.
Two other major poultry-producing nations, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, have recently reached critical milestones in their own experimental and regulatory pathways. The Dutch government has been a pioneer in testing next-generation vector vaccines. Following successful controlled trials by Wageningen Bioveterinary Research (WBVR) which began in 2023, the Netherlands initiated a step-by-step commercial pilot in early 2025 to gauge international trade reactions and logistics.
Great Britain launched its own groundbreaking, 24-week targeted field trial in March 2026. Administered by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), the UK trial specifically focuses on turkeys in England, selected due to their high susceptibility and severe mortality rates during the historic 2021–2023 outbreaks.
The pilots in Italy, the UK, and the Netherlands are generating the crucial epidemiological data required to modernize global trade frameworks. By proving that advanced surveillance can prevent "silent spread," these nations aim to reassure global trade partners and pave the way for a sustainable, vaccine-mediated coexistence with avian influenza.
