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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Athens, Georgia » U.S. National Poultry Research Center » Exotic & Emerging Avian Viral Diseases Research » Research » Research Project #431991

Research Project: Evaluation of Efficacy of Experimental Newcastle Disease Vaccines

Location: Exotic & Emerging Avian Viral Diseases Research

Project Number: 6040-32000-072-015-T
Project Type: Trust Fund Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Dec 15, 2014
End Date: Dec 14, 2019

Objective:
1. Evaluate antibody response induced by different Newcastle Disease virus (NDV) vaccine candidates expressing various gene inserts. 2. Evaluate efficacy of new NDV vaccine candidates against clinical disease and shedding after challenge with various velogenic NDV isolates 3. Test different vaccination protocols for SPF and commercial poultry to maximize NDV vaccine efficacies 4. Share NDV challenge strains and reagents 5. Evaluate efficacy of new avian influenza and other poultry pathogen vaccine candidates against clinical disease and shedding after challenge.

Approach:
Different alternative Newcastle disease (ND) vaccines based on vector, reverse genetics or expression systems technologies will be generated and controlled for NDV gene expression by the Cooperator. The Sponsor will test vaccines for immunogenicity and efficacy against different epidemiologically relevant NDV isolates. Protection will be evaluated in SPF and commercial chickens by prevention of illness and death, increasing resistance to infection, reduction in number of infected birds, decrease in the amount of challenge virus shed from respiratory and alimentary tracts, and reduction of transmission to contact birds. Different vaccine candidates will be associated in prime-boost immunization schemes to optimize immunity and protection. Different alternative vaccines for avian influenza and other poultry pathogens based on vector, reverse genetics or expression systems technologies will be generated and controlled for gene expression by the Cooperator. The Sponsor will test vaccines for immunogenicity and efficacy against different epidemiologically relevant poultry pathogens.