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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Fayetteville, Arkansas » Poultry Production and Product Safety Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #430812
Research Project: Multi-hurdle Approaches for Controlling Foodborne Pathogens in Poultry

Location: Poultry Production and Product Safety Research

Title: eBeam-Driven killed vaccines: a novel approach to preserve antigenic integrity and control bacterial lameness in broilers

Author
item Jesudhasan, Palmy
item PERERA, RUVINDU - University Of Arkansas
item ALRUBAYE, ADNAN - University Of Arkansas
item RHOADS, DOUGLAS - University Of Arkansas

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/22/2025
Publication Date: 1/18/2026
Citation: Jesudhasan, P., Perera, R., Alrubaye, A., Rhoads, D. 2026. eBeam-Driven killed vaccines: a novel approach to preserve antigenic integrity and control bacterial lameness in broilers. Abstract. Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases, January 17-20, 2026.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Poultry is one of the primary sources of human foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella and Campylobacter. Certain bacteria, such as Clostridium perfringens, Staphylococcus spp., Enterococcus spp., and Mycoplasma, cause diseases in poultry birds, leading to economic losses. Controlling them is a challenge, and effective vaccines are known to control diseases. Therefore, if we have an effective vaccine for these pathogens, we could control all of them. Currently, with the invention of electron beam (eBeam) technology for vaccine development, we can develop effective vaccines by exposing the live pathogens to eBeam, inactivating them, and using the inactivated pathogens as killed vaccines. Traditionally, killed vaccines are inactivated using chemicals, which are known to affect the epitopes by cross-linking proteins. Epitopes are necessary to induce immune response, and if the epitopes are damaged, then we will not expect good protection. Interestingly, eBeam inactivates bacteria or viruses by destroying nucleic acids, causing multiple directly opposed double-stranded breaks that prevent them from being repaired, thereby preventing replication. This process does not affect epitopes, which is the beauty of eBeam. In the United States poultry industry, Bacterial Chondronecrosis with Osteomyelitis (BCO) lameness occurs at a rate of 1 to 5% in typical scenarios, but when an outbreak occurs, it can reach 30% in broiler chickens, posing a significant issue affecting animal welfare. It causes substantial economic loss, attributed to several bacteria, including Staphylococcus spp., Enterococcus spp., E. coli., Salmonella, and Mycoplasma. Recently, we have developed an eBeam-killed vaccine to control BCO lameness, but for this study, we used only a few species of Staphylococcus strains (multi-strain) exposed to a lethal eBeam dose and used them as a killed vaccine to test the efficacy of the vaccine in broiler chickens. We also prepared a formalin-killed vaccine using the same strains. We had four groups: (1) eBeam, (2) formalin, (3) a combination of both eBeam and formalin, and (4) sham. The broiler chickens used in this study were directly exposed to aerosolized, natural BCO-challenge using our established model for 56 days. Vaccinated and non-vaccinated birds were examined for lameness from day 22 to day 56. The results indicated that birds that received the eBeam vaccine had a 50% reduction in lameness compared to other groups, moreover, Staphylococcus was absent in the BCO lesions. The eBeam-killed vaccine has a provisional patent #2534205.