Poultry producers, disease experts and government officials are now questioning the practice of widespread culling in response to H5N1 bird flu outbreaks.

A New Jersey pharmaceutical company has received a “a conditional license" for its bird flu vaccine for use in chickens. An infectious diseases expert comments.

For the first time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed the presence of H5N1 avian influenza in rats, raising fresh concerns about the virus’s ability to spread among mammals. The infected black rats were found in Riverside County, California, near recent poultry outbreaks.

PARSIPPANY, NJ. — The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a conditional license for an avian influenza vaccine as outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in poultry flocks continue throughout the United States.

Rancher has kept H5N1 at bay with a few relatively simple steps. Experts say avian influenza vaccine, long forbidden by trade policy, may finally be in the offing.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins is expected “in the coming days” to announce a new strategy to fight the escalating outbreak.

Both the Finnish and the U.S. bird flu vaccines are made by CSL Seqirus but are different vaccines. In the summer, U.S. officials stockpiled 4.8 million doses of the vaccine that officials said was effective against circulating H5N1 strains. In October, the U.S. issued a $72 million grant to three manufacturers to double the nation's stockpile.

Center for Veterinary Biologics (CVB) issued Zoetis Inc (NYSE:ZTS) a conditional license for its Avian Influenza Vaccine, H5N2 Subtype, Killed Virus. The vaccine is labeled for use in chickens. The conditional license was granted on the demonstration of safety,

The vaccine doesn’t offer protection against H5N1. But health experts say it ... affected by bird flu outbreaks in animals, including California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan ...