New Approach to Fighting Exotic Newcastle Disease

Oct. 31, 2003 -- A new approach to experimental vaccines that combat exotic Newcastle disease (END) in poultry flocks has been developed by U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists.

?This experimental vaccine, called a virosome vaccine, induces protective immunity but doesn?t allow the virus to replicate ? copy itself ? or pass from bird to bird,? said ARS microbiologist Darrell Kapczynski. ?The experimental vaccine causes a protective immune response in the birds and makes it possible to differentiate between vaccinated and virus-infected birds.?

California recently was hit hard by a severe outbreak of END. In all, some 3.5 million commercial and backyard poultry ? such as geese, chickens, turkeys, pigeons and peacocks ? were euthanized to stop the virus from spreading to other states. More than $104.5 million was spent by the federal-state task force working to contain and eradicate END.

The vaccine will not be available in the near future and will have to be approved by USDA?s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service before it can be used by poultry producers.

<< Back