Vaccines to combat bird flu could create issues for poultry producers

Using vaccines to combat bird flu could create trade issues for local poultry producers.

In the past week, two outbreaks of the highly contagious H5N1 strain were detected on farms within a kilometre of each other in County Monaghan.

It's estimated that 45,000 birds have been infected across the two sites.

Last week marked Animal Health and Antimicrobial Resistance Week, and was promoted by the Department of Agriculture.

The Department's Superintending Veterinary Inspector Damien Barrett said preventing exotic diseases getting into Irish farms is the best form of defence, and explained why vaccines aren't being widely used to halt transmission.