The Agriculture Department has approved safety trials for two companies developing cattle vaccines against the H5N1 virus commonly known as bird flu, Eric Deeble, the agriculture deputy undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs, said today.

Deeble announced the safety trials in a call to reporters with Health and Human Services Department officials. On the call, the HHS officials said there are now 31 confirmed cases of H5N1 in humans, but that the number is constantly being updated by reports from state health officials. HHS and USDA also released a fact sheet on their efforts on H5N1.

Deeble did not release the names of the companies, and a USDA official said he could not release the company names in order “to protect manufacturer privacy and ensure a level playing field. Companies that wish to disclose and share this information on their own accord, are free to do so.”

Medgene, a South Dakota-based animal health company, confirmed to The Hagstrom Report that it is one of the companies authorized to begin a field trial. 

In a statement, Medgene said, “The trial began earlier this month at a contract research facility. The goal of the field trial is to demonstrate a reasonable expectation of efficacy and preliminary safety in animals specific to the company’s H5N1 vaccine, data to support a conditional license by the USDA.'”

Alan Young, co-founder and chief technology officer for Medgene, stated, “As unfortunate as the H5N1 spread is, this is exactly the kind of situation that our technology was created to address. Our goal from the very beginning of this outbreak was to be ready for our cattle customers whenever the USDA gave us the green light.”

Medgene’s H5N1 cattle vaccine study is expected to be complete in five weeks, with results then shared with the USDA, the company said.

In an earlier interview, Medgene CEO Mark Luecke said that the company has 500,000 doses of a cattle vaccine ready and has been urging USDA to allow sale of the vaccines. But Deeble said in an interview conducted before today’s announcement that USDA cannot approve the distribution of the vaccines until the safety trials have been conducted.

Luecke said Medgene uses a “platform technology” that allows the vaccine to be changed as the virus is changing.

In that interview Luecke said, “We applaud USDA for taking any steps in this current situation. We simply encourage USDA to move faster.”

Deeble also noted that USDA has sent strike teams to California to support the state in its efforts on H5N1.