Zoonotic influenza A(H5) vaccination in humans in the EU/EEA
Assessment
Highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) continues to circulate widely in wild birds and cause outbreaks in poultry and other animals across Europe. Despite extensive circulation, human infections remain rare and no human cases have been confirmed in the EU/EEA to date. Considering this, ECDC assesses the risk from A(H5N1) viruses circulating in Europe as low for the general population and low to moderate for people occupationally or otherwise exposed to infected animals or contaminated environments.
Key findings
- Twenty-seven of 30 EU/EEA countries responded to the survey on influenza A(H5) vaccination in humans – national plans and implementation status in EU/EEA. Eight countries reported having national A(H5) vaccination recommendations in place, eight were currently developing them, and 11 had no plans at the time of the survey.
- Implementation of the plans remained limited: five countries had started vaccination campaigns (Austria, Finland, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Portugal) and three planned to do so within one year. Priority groups most commonly included in the cohort to be vaccinated were veterinarians and animal-health staff, culling teams, laboratory staff and workers in farming and the poultry sector.
- Most countries reported that they are monitoring or planning to monitor vaccine uptake; the majority through immunisation registries.
- Reported vaccine uptake in reporting countries was generally low outside laboratory settings, but data were incomplete and not comparable across countries.
- Overall, results were heterogeneous in the EU/EEA due to variation in national recommendations, implementation plans, delivery arrangements and uptake monitoring. For preparedness purposes, countries would benefit from clearly defined programme objectives and scenario-based triggers, tested delivery pathways, targeted communication and uptake-monitoring plans.
Publication file
Zoonotic influenza A(H5) vaccination in humans in the EU/EEA
English (735.12 KB - PDF)
