Infectious diseases | THL: Bird flu vaccinations start

Bird flu vaccinations will be started in welfare areas as soon as possible, informs the Institute of Health and Welfare (THL).

Together with the Food Agency, THL has drawn up a recommendation on target groups for bird flu vaccination.

The vaccine is offered to those over 18 years of age who, due to their work or other circumstances, have an increased risk of contracting bird flu.

20,000 doses of bird flu vaccine have been acquired in Finland through EU joint procurement, which is enough to vaccinate 10,000 people with two doses.

With bird flu vaccinations according to THL, the aim is to protect those at risk of contracting bird flu from serious disease caused by the virus.

The goal is also to prevent a situation where the bird flu virus infects humans at the same time as the seasonal flu virus, which could enable the emergence of a new type of virus.

So far, not a single human bird flu infection has been detected in Finland.

Last in Finland there were large mass deaths of wild birds caused by avian influenza virus infection. In addition, the virus spread widely to fur farms, causing high morbidity and mortality in animals.

This year, bird flu has occurred in wild birds significantly less than last year. The Food Agency has so far only identified one disease case.

You can get infected from sick or dead animals or their secretions. However, the bird flu virus is weakly contagious to humans. In general, cases of infection are very rarely observed.