Evaluation of a thermostable Newcastle disease virus strain TS09-C as an in-ovo vaccine for chickens

Authors: WEN, GUOYUAN - Hubei Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; LI, LINTAO - Huazhong Agricultural University; Yu, Qingzhong; WANG, HONGLING - Hubei Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; LUO, QINGPING - Hubei Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; ZHANG, TENGJEI - Hubei Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; ZHANG, RONGRONG - Hubei Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; ZHANG, WANPO - Huazhong Agricultural University; SHAO, HUABIN - Hubei Academy Of Agricultural Sciences

Submitted to: PLOS ONE
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/9/2017
Publication Date: 2/24/2017
Publication URL: https://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/5801872
Citation: Wen, G., Li, L., Yu, Q., Wang, H., Luo, Q., Zhang, T., Zhang, R., Zhang, W., Shao, H. 2017. Evaluation of a thermostable Newcastle disease virus strain TS09-C as an in-ovo vaccine for chickens. PLoS One. 12(2):e0172812. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0172812.

Interpretive Summary: Newcastle disease (ND), caused by infection with virulent strains of Newcastle disease virus (NDV), is one of the most common avian respiratory diseases in the poultry industry around the world. Vaccination combined with restrict biosecurity has been the recommended strategy for control of ND. However, most of the NDV live vaccine strains used after hatch, are unsafe as in-ovo vaccines, due to their high pathogenicity for chicken embryos. In this study, we evaluated the thermostable NDV strain TS09-C, derived from V4 strain, as an in-ovo vaccine. Results suggest that the thermostable NDV strain TS09-C is a safe and immunogenic in-ovo vaccine candidate that can be delivered quickly and uniformly, and induce earlier immune response that can protect chicks from the disease.

Technical Abstract: In-ovo vaccination is an attractive immunization approach for poultry industry. However, most of the Newcastle disease virus (NDV) vaccine strains used after hatch are unsafe, as in-ovo vaccines, due to their high pathogenicity for chicken embryos. In this study, we evaluated the safety and immunogenicity of a thermostable NDV strain TS09-C, derived from V4 strain, as in-ovo vaccine. Chickens in-ovo vaccinated with the parental V4 strain displayed greatly reduced hatchability and severe histopathological lesions in both trachea and intestine tissues, while the hatchability was not affected by in-ovo vaccination withTS09-C strain. The safe dose that infected all chicken embryos without obviously histopathological lesions was 103.0 EID50 per bird. In-ovo vaccination of chickens with TS09-C virus conferred complete protection against virulent NDV challenge. Results suggest that the thermostable NDV strain TS09-C is a safe and immunogenic in-ovo vaccine candidate that can be delivered quickly and uniformly, and induce earlier immune response.