To be or not to be immunized...#savethechickens

The threat of Newcastle Disease (NCD) on poultry is not one that should be taken lightly. Each year millions of birds are lost to NCD.  The young members of the flock fare very badly. In chicks the death rate is 100 percent.  And although some adult birds are able to survive a disease outbreak as the result of a degree of natural immunity, this applies to only a handful.

In the study that lasted 16 weeks, the researchers used 50-Day old chicks, one of which was Sheila, as the sample for the study. When the chicks were three weeks old, the researchers took 30 birds, put them into a separate unit, and then vaccinated them with a single dose of KUKUSTAR®, which is administered through an eye-drop. Sheila and the other 19 birds were left in the same unit and did not receive the vaccination.

Fourteen weeks after the experiment first began, and 11 weeks since the 30 birds had received the KUKUSTAR® vaccine, 15 of the vaccinated chickens were then transferred back into the same unit with Sheila and her other 19 colleagues that did not receive the vaccine. During that time, all 35 reunited birds (the 15 vaccinated plus the 20 unvaccinated), were enjoying each others company until were all injected with a vicious strain of Newcastle Disease virus isolated from the field. Unknowingly to Sheila, this would mark the beginning of a battle for her life. 

Fourteen days after the 35 birds were infected, the 15 vaccinated birds were symptom-free,just like their other 15 vaccinated counterparts that had been kept as controls in a separate unit. As they continued to enjoy their new environment and company they rapidly saw the population in the NCD-infected unit decrease as all 20 unvaccinated birds, including Sheila, fell sick and 19 of them died during the two-week span. The sole survivor was Sheila who by pure luck survived due to her natural immunity, so she was able to recover. Had she been younger, she would not have survived. However, Sheila's immunity will not last a lifetime and her chance of surviving another NCD infection down the line is even smaller.

With all this in mind, Brentec Vaccines will soon be making the KUKUSTAR® vaccine available on the market and will give chickens like Sheila a fighting chance as we approach a season where NCD is most prevalent. The vaccine, which was previously too expensive or unavailable to many poultry farmers, will give the farmers the tool they need to fight a disease that wipes out millions of their birds every year.