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China Develops Combined Poultry Vaccine for Avian Flu, Newcastle Disease Virus

Posted on: Saturday, 24 December 2005, 15:00 CST

Text of report by Yao Runfeng and Dong Jun, carried by official Chinese news agency Xinhua (New China News Agency)

Beijing, 24 December: On 24 December, the Ministry of Agriculture announced in Beijing that after four years of hard work and having overcome numerous technological hurdles, Chinese researchers recently successfully developed the world's first combined avian influenza-Newcastle Disease Virus [NDV] recombinant live vaccine. This new vaccine, a single-vaccine prophylactic against two diseases, was formally approved on 23 December for production and reserve. By the end of this month, 1 billion doses can be produced.

In an interview with our reporters on 24 December, National Chief Veterinary Officer Jia Youling said: The research staff of the National Avian Influenza Reference Laboratory under Harbin Institute of Veterinary Medicine, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, used the attenuated NDV La Sota viral strain as carrier, applied advanced reverse genetic manipulation of minus-strand RNA, and developed this new vaccine through trials and errors. It is a front runner internationally, of which China owns full, independent intellectual property rights. It will maintain China's position as a leader in the world in terms of highly pathogenic avian influenza prevention and control technology.

Compared to traditional vaccines, the new vaccine has seven advantages. First, it is more efficient. The vaccine provides simultaneous prophylaxis against avian influenza and NDV, the two Type-A fulminating avian infectious diseases as defined by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). Second, it is easier to use. Not only can it be injected using the traditional method, but it can also be introduced by various other means, such as nasal drip, eye drip, oral vaccination with water, and spray. It can effectively reduce the time required for vaccination and make the vaccination process simpler and faster. Therefore, it helps to intensify vaccination, raise the vaccination density, and guarantee the effect of vaccination. Third, it produces more desirable vaccination results. The new vaccine can simultaneously induce mucosal immunity, humoral immunity, and cellular immunity responses, with more reliable vaccination results. Fourth, it is safer. Experiments have shown that the new vaccine causes no adverse reaction in newborn chicks. Fifth, its production cost is low. The cost of production of the new vaccine is only one fifth of that of an inactivated vaccine. This means large savings on the cost of vaccination and reduced investment in epidemic prevention. Sixth, it has a longer storage life. The new vaccine can be freeze-dried and has a storage life for over 18 months. Seventh, it is more conducive to improving the quality of poultry meat. The new vaccine is highly suitable for the vaccination of poultry raised for meat, as it has no adverse effect on the quality of the meat.

Jia Youling said: The successful development of the new vaccine has drawn enthusiastic responses internationally and at home and attracted extensive attention from many research institutions in the United States and Europe. This is of great significance as it will lend a strong impetus to the prevention and control of avian influenza and NDV in China and around the world. Moreover, the technology used in the development and production of the new vaccine provides important inspiration for the development of new-type avian influenza vaccines for human use.

Jia Youling said: In order to step up support for the development work, the Ministry of Agriculture decided to combine the appraisal of the new vaccine with genetic modification and biosafety assessment, open a green passage on the principle of special treatment for special cases, and allow the examination and approval experts to get involved early on, so that they could start appraising the vaccine with no time lost. On 23 December, the Ministry of Agriculture completed technical appraisal and formally approved the production of the new vaccine.

Source: BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific

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