USDA Funds Nasal Vaccine to Stop Bird Flu Spread

Nasal Spray Vaccine Aims to Protect Cows and Dairy Workers

The USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture has awarded $648,881 to the University of Maryland and USDA Agricultural Research Service researchers to develop a nasal vaccine to protect dairy cows from H5N1 bird flu. This innovative step aims to prevent the spread of the virus among cows and reduce risks to dairy workers and the public.

The H5N1 strain of bird flu has recently shown the ability to infect not just birds, but also cows, cats, and even humans. However, it is not yet a human-to-human transmissible virus.

Infected humans have so far contracted it through direct contact with cows. This raises concern among scientists about the virus mutating with continued exposure.

Researchers Xiaoping Zhu of the University of Maryland and Wenbin Tuo of the USDA ARS are using nasal spray vaccine technology originally created for COVID-19 and human flu. They aim to adapt it for cows to block the virus at its point of entry—the nasal passages—before it can infect the respiratory tract.

“Preventing the initial infection and spread of H5N1 in cows means reducing exposure to the virus for other mammals, dairy workers, and the general public,” said Zhu.

Unlike injections that trigger immune responses after infection begins, nasal vaccines create immunity at the entry point, potentially stopping infections from starting at all. This approach can be crucial in managing the spread of bird flu in both animals and people.

The USDA funding will help researchers test this nasal vaccine in cattle, marking a major step forward in controlling zoonotic diseases that can affect farms and communities.