Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Policies for Poultry Workers in 33 Pan American Health Organization Member States in 2026: A Review

Background/Objective: Since 2004, seasonal influenza vaccination has been technically recommended for poultry workers as a public health measure to reduce the risk of co-infection with human and avian influenza viruses and the potential emergence of reassortant strains. The Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region has co-circulation of seasonal and avian influenza, with outbreaks in different animal species, including humans. Also, LAC is a major poultry-producing region, with large workforces exposed to domestic poultry, increasing opportunities for virus transmission at the human–animal interface. This review aimed to describe the current state of seasonal influenza vaccination policies across 33 LAC countries and to identify which countries explicitly mention poultry workers. Methods: We conducted a literature review with structured and iterative search strategies from the electronic Joint Reporting Form on Immunization (eJRF) and the national health authorities’ websites of the 33 countries. Results: As of July 2026, eight countries explicitly included poultry workers among the target groups for seasonal influenza vaccination: Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Peru and Uruguay. In contrast, 14 countries did not mention poultry workers in their most recent vaccination policies available online. For 11 countries, no publicly available data was identified. Conclusions: Substantial gaps exist in the adoption and reporting of seasonal influenza vaccination policies for poultry workers across the LAC region. Most of the region’s major poultry-producing countries do not specifically target this group, nor do most of the countries where outbreaks of avian influenza were recorded. This represents a missed opportunity to strengthen prevention efforts at the human–animal interface.