Iconic Australian mammals could be at real risk from bird flu. Could we protect them using vaccines in baits?

Ulrich Hollman/Getty The deadly rabies virus was once common across Europe.

A bite from an infected dog, wolf or fox could be fatal.

But then came a breakthrough: an edible vaccine.

Since 1978, a billion baits containing the vaccine have been distributed by 30 European nations.

Many European nations are now considered rabies-free.

Our research team has been developing edible bait vaccines for Tasmanian devils to protect them from devil facial tumour disease.

This approach could be adapted to protect devils and other scavenging mammals from bird flu.

What’s missing is the right vaccine.

Bird flu vaccines for mammals are still largely experimental.

Getting a new vaccine tested and approved in time to be useful during this outbreak of bird flu would be very challenging – but not impossible.

The good news is that vaccine development took a huge leap forward during the COVID pandemic.

Vaccines were being tested in humans about two months after genomic sequencing of the novel coronavirus.

Investing in new bird flu vaccines for wildlife will be useful to help prepare for future outbreaks.

How to dispense a vaccine Tassie devils suffer from one of the world’s few known contagious cancers.