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Leaky vaccines help reduce transmission of Marek’s disease
Leaky vaccines are currently the most commonly used method of controlling Marek's disease.

Study finds imperfect vaccines control severity of viral disease

A new study conducted on chickens infected with Marek’s disease has revealed that vaccines that do not prevent onward transmission or infection are more effective in controlling the severity of the disease than previously thought.

Researchers from the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute and the US Department of Agriculture’s Avian Disease and Oncology laboratory (ADOL), conducted the study to analyse how leaky vaccines impact overall populations.

One group of chickens received a leaky vaccine – this contained a related live virus originating from turkeys, which triggers an immune response, but no symptoms. While a second control group was given a sham vaccine, which contained no biological material. Both groups were then infected with Marek’s disease virus and placed with different sets of unvaccinated chickens for 48 hours.

More than 97 per cent of the birds became infected. However, the unvaccinated chickens that had contact with those who had received the leaky vaccine were less likely to develop full-blown Marek’s disease and there were also fewer deaths. This was found to be a result of vaccinated birds transmitting fewer copies of Marek’s disease virus.

Lead author Dr Richard Bailey, who is also a research fellow at the Roslin Institute, said: “In our study, we found that leaky vaccines can provide benefit in terms of reducing the presence and severity of symptoms, and mortality, caused by Marek’s disease even for unvaccinated chickens. We need further research to understand how this effect changes as the virus mutates and in other strains of chickens.” 

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Antibiotic Amnesty survey opens

News Story 1
 The Responsible Use of Medicines Alliance - Companion Animal and Equine (RUMA - CA&E) has launched a survey which seeks to measure the success of this year's Antibiotic Amnesty campaign.

Its results will help the group to calculate how many unused or out-of-date antibiotics were returned as part of the campaign throughout November. Practices are also asked how they engaged with clients to raise awareness of the issue.

Participating practices can enter a prize draw to win up to 100 in vouchers for taking part. Further prizes from BSAVA and Webinar Vet will be available for practices with the best input.

The survey takes a few minutes to complete and will be running throughout December. It can be accessed via this link

Click here for more...
News Shorts
NSA survey investigates sheep worrying

The National Sheep Association (NSA) has launched its latest survey to better understand the severity of sheep worrying in the UK.

The survey will be open until Friday, 21 February 2025. UK sheep farmers are invited to share their experiences of sheep worrying by dogs and its impact on the industry.

NSA has been gathering information about sheep worrying for over 10 years as part of its campaign to raise awareness of incidents and produce new ways of educating the public.

Sheep worrying, often caused by dogs being loose near fields, can result in physical injury, miscarriage and death of animals affected.

The results of the survey will be shared with interested parties, including the UK press, before spring and ahead of lambing season next year.

For more information, or to complete the survey, visit NSA's website.