I recently wrote about Ceva’s IBron which helps fight the Georgia serotypes of avian infectious bronchitis or IBV, a coronavirus that mutates fast and can be deadly in chickens. I chanced upon an article on Poultry Health Today that talks about shedding of IBV into the environment.

Apparently, it does little to affect birds that have held protected. Though, it can be a problem for naïve birds, based on a study by researchers from the University of Georgia.

Most poultry producers routinely vaccinate their broilers with multiple serotypes to ensure their health and well-being. They also try to generate cross-protection against different serotypes in this manner.

University of Georgia researchers wanted to determine if shedding after being exposed to heterologous (dissimilar) IBV would be a problem for birds without proper immunity. They took 40 day-old broilers and vaccinated half with IBV Ma5, which is the Massachusetts IBV serotype via eyedrop. They protect in the same fashion with Delaware 072 IBV. The other 20 remained unvaccinated.

Directly vaccinated birds stayed preserved at all time points. The unvaccinated and unchallenged contact birds stayed protected except at ten days after the challenge. The unvaccinated and unchallenged controls stayed protected at 5 and 20 days past the problem but were unprotected 10 and 15 days after the trial.

Please keep in mind that viral loads did detect in all birds after the challenge at different time points. This data shows us that as long as a flock is well-vaccinated, virus shed into the environment will not pose a significant threat. However, signs and lesions may develop in naïve birds.

You can read the full article here. You will find the abstract to the study here. If you are looking for a better perch, visit our website for the latest poultry job openings. Follow #ContinentalSearch on LinkedIn and Facebook to read the freshest poultry news.

Trish Valenzuela • CPC/ PRC • Poultry Recruiter

Trish Valenzuela specializes in recruiting for poultry feed additive companies. She has filled positions in technical support, sales, and sales management across the USA.

Trish joined Continental Search in July 2015, and through hard study, she passed two certification programs. She is now a Certified Personnel Consultant (CPC) and a Professional Recruiting Consultant (PRC).

Visit her LinkedIn profile to connect with her and stay updated with current poultry trends. You can reach her at (302) 248-8242, through LinkedIn, or at trish@consearch.com.