Scientific breakthrough in chicken vaccination

An international team of scientists have managed to produce a detailed picture of how the disease affects chickens. When inoculated with isolated and purified protein molecules taken from the parasites, the animals showed good resistance against coccidiosis, bringing hope for an efficient vaccine.

Funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Science Research Council (BBRSC), the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Wellcome Trust, the research took place at Imperial College London, the Institute for Animal Health, the University of Oxford and the Royal Veterinary College.

BBSRC chief executive Professor Douglas Kell said: “Finding new ways to combat diseases of farmed animals is going to be important to ensure global food security – but also to the UK economy. This work is a nice example of how studying the fundamental biology of a process at the most minute level could lead to new weapons in the fight against disease.”

Professor Stephen Matthews of Imperial College London added: “Finding a target protein that could form the basis of a new type of vaccine for coccidiosis has been the holy grail for researchers combating coccidiosis for some time.”

Usually treated with antimicrobial drugs, coccidiosis affects mostly young birds, and the most important symptoms are emaciation, thirst, listlessness, ruffled plumage, bloodstained faeces and birds huddling together.

Professor Fiona Tomley of the Royal Veterinary College said: “Coccidiosis is the most important parasite of poultry globally. Conservative estimates by the EU put the annual worldwide cost of coccidiosis at over £1bn, so controlling it is very important economically, but it is also valuable for improving the health and welfare of chickens.”

> Quest to breed disease-resistant chickens

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