New vaccine formulation for chickens
A tablet formulation of a vaccine has been developed to help protect chickens against Newcastle disease, in low-resource rural areas.
Under the auspices of the Edinburgh-based charity, the Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines (GALVmed), the fast-dissolving tablet has been developed by PATH, an international non-profit organisation.
Many of the world's 2.5 billion people who survive on a mere US $2 a day rely on chickens and other poultry for cash in crises, but the main threat to such poultry is Newcastle disease. Furthermore, the conventional vaccine against the disease is packaged in easily damaged glass vials.
The new tablet, however, is more convenient not only to transport, but also store and use in remote rural settings.
Baptiste Dungu, GALVmed's senior director for research and development, said: "GALVmed is proud to support the development of the Newcastle disease vaccine tablet, which may soon make Newcastle disease vaccine cheaper and easier for poor farmers to transport, store and use."
With Strangles Awareness Week just around the corner (5-11 May), vets are being encouraged to share a survey about the disease with their horse-owning clients.
