Vaccination of Poultry against Campylobacter in the EU

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) analyses information on the occurrence of zoonosis and food-born outbreaks submitted by the 27 EU member states in its annual report (EFSA, 2012). Among the 13 zoonosis monitored, Campylobacter is the most commonly reported gastrointestinal bacterial pathogen in the EU since 2005. Reportedly, 212,064 humans have been confirmed ill in 2010 due to a Campylobacter infection in the EU, which is probably only the tip of the iceberg. The major source of infection, among sporadic human cases is to be found in the food chain, from farm-to-fork, where poultry meat is considered to be one of the major vehicles of Campylobacter infections in humans, accounting for 50 to 80 per cent of reported cases. One way to reduce this socio economic loss to society is perhaps the introduction of a new Campylobacter vaccine, which could be administered to day old chicks. This would effectively reduce the outbreak of illness among the general population, enhancing general wellbeing and increase the efficiency of the employed labor force. In the present paper, we attempt to assess the potential economic benefits of a mandatory vaccination program at the EU27 level. In the study, benefits are mainly assumed to comprise lower risk of illness due to Campylobacter infections, and hence increased productivity, as well as some consumer preference for safer chicken meat. In the modeled analysis presented in this paper, the possible price of the vaccine is estimated when it is assumed that: i) the number of reported confirmed human Campylobacteriosis cases in the EU is reduced by 75 percent, (ii) an import ban on non-vaccinated chicken meat into the EU is implemented, (iii) an increased preference for EU chicken meat outside the EU increases exports marginally and (iv) that the aggregate EU welfare has to remain unchanged as measured by the equivalent variation in income.