Vaccination of poultry for avian influenza virus (AIV) is a complex topic as there are numerous technical,
logistic and regulatory aspects which must be considered. Historically, control of high pathogenicity (HP)
AIV infection in poultry has been accomplished by eradication and stamping out when outbreaks occur
locally. Since the H5N1 HPAIV from Asia has spread and become enzootic, vaccination has been used on
a long-term basis by some countries to control the virus, other countries have used it temporarily to aid
eradication efforts, while others have not used it at all. Currently, H5N1 HPAIV is considered enzootic in
China, Egypt, Viet Nam, India, Bangladesh and Indonesia. All but Bangladesh and India have instituted
vaccination programs for poultry. Importantly,the specifics ofthese programs differ to accommodate different
situations, resources, and industry structure in each country. The current vaccines most commonly
used are inactivated whole virus vaccines, but vectored vaccine use is increasing. Numerous technical
improvements to these platforms and novel vaccine platforms for H5N1 vaccines have been reported,
but most are not ready to be implemented in the field.