Emily Kimminau, PhD, has firmly become one of the industry’s go-to specialists in coccidiosis — a disease that remains one of the most prevalent and costly challenges in global poultry production. In this Q&A, she talks about disease trends, gut health strategies and what the future holds for data-driven poultry production.
Coccidiosis guru Steve Fitz-Coy, PhD, started his career in the early 1980s. Some 40 years later, coccidiosis continues to be one of the most common and costly diseases of poultry worldwide. And Fitz-Coy, a poultry scientist at Merck for the past 24 years, is still the go-to guy when an outbreak is suspected.
More than 6 million birds have been vaccinated against avian metapneumovirus (aMPV) type B since the September rollout of the first experimental autogenous vaccine produced in the US, according to Ivan Alvarado, PhD, associate director, scientific marketing affairs, Merck Animal Health.
Merck Animal Health reports that the USDA has approved the manufacturing and sale of Cambridge Technologies’ experimental autogenous vaccine in the US for the emerging and deadly avian metapneumovirus type B, impacting broilers, broiler breeders, layers and turkey breeders.
A sharper focus on minor coccidiosis species may be the key to improving management of this persistent parasitic disease and improving gut health, feed conversion and flock performance.
Careful attention to the coccidiosis vaccination process and follow-up monitoring will go a long way toward ensuring a positive outcome. However, even the best programs will encounter an occasional hiccup.
A successful coccidiosis-vaccination program starts with proper vaccine handling and uniform application at the hatchery. Charlie Broussard, DVM, Merck Animal Health, offers several areas to monitor to determine whether the vaccination program is on track to protect the flock.
Getting chicks off to a quick start in the brooder house is always a priority, but it is especially critical when birds have been vaccinated for coccidiosis.
While most chicks are vaccinated for coccidiosis at the hatchery, it’s the first few weeks in the grower barn that determine coccidia exposure, cycling and eventual immunity.
Developing a recombinant vaccine that protects against infectious bursal disease plus two other viral bugs – infectious laryngotracheitis and Marek’s disease – may sound simple on paper. But in the world of vaccine development, 1 + 1 doesn't necessarily equal 2.
Most poultry producers today use vaccines to help manage coccidiosis. Live coccidial vaccines are designed to uniformly infect birds with a controlled number of Eimeria oocysts to stimulate a protective immune response, but not all vaccines are the same.
Poultry farms seeking protection against infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT) outbreaks may find the best defense for layers and broiler-breeder replacement birds is a dual ILT vaccination program.
Merck Animal Health has entered into an agreement with Cambridge Technologies, an independent custom vaccine company based in Worthington, Minnesota, to sell and market its innovative autogenous poultry vaccines in the US.
Merck Animal Health has introduced FLOCKSECURE™ poultry health portal, an innovative web-based platform solution designed to capture, maintain, distribute and analyze data from post-mortem sessions.
Fowl cholera is a bacterial disease of poultry that commonly affects chickens around 15 weeks of age and older, but it can impact birds as young as 6 weeks, cautions Charlie Broussard, DVM, Merck Animal Health.
Merck Animal Health has introduced Innovax®-ILT-IBD, a vaccine that provides combined protection and immunization against Marek’s disease (MD), infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT) and infectious bursal disease (IBD) in a single injection.
Vaccination is key to managing fowl cholera in poultry. For a program to be successful, however, it’s critical to train vaccination crews to monitor vaccine “takes” or major cutaneous reactions within a flock — no easy task with today’s employee shortages and rotating vaccination crews.
Since it was first isolated in broiler flocks on the Delmarva Peninsula, the latest mutation of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), DMV/1639, has spread through the eastern seaboard of the US and west toward Mississippi and Texas.
There are many pests and pathogens to monitor on poultry farms, but bed bugs typically aren’t top of mind. Nevertheless, bed bug infestations have been resurfacing in US poultry farms. Does that present a health, performance or welfare problem for flocks?
Developing a thorough vaccination strategy for fowl cholera — one that includes selecting the right vaccine strain for the field challenge that the birds are facing and proper vaccine administration — is critical when managing this bacterial disease.
Even with the best flock-management and vaccination protocols, fowl cholera can occasionally find a crack in the system. Chronic, low-grade cholera problems can materialize, or occasional breaks in breeder flocks can suddenly appear.
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Careful attention to the coccidiosis vaccination process and follow-up monitoring will go a long way toward ensuring a positive outcome. However, even the best programs will encounter an occasional hiccup.
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