The US Poultry & Egg Association and the USPOULTRY Foundation are announcing the completion of a funded research project by researchers from Iowa State University that worked to develop and evaluate bacterin-based vaccines for the control of spotty liver disease in poultry. The research is part of the association’s comprehensive research program encompassing all phases of poultry and egg production and processing.

Project 735 is titled Development of Vaccines for the Control of Chicken Spotty Liver Disease, led by Orhan Sahin, Iowa State University, Department of Veterinary Diagnostics and Production Animal Medicine.

Spotty liver disease manifests as acute infectious hepatitis and causes a significant drop in egg production and high mortality in layer chickens. The main goal of this project was to develop and evaluate bacterin-based vaccines for the control of SLD in poultry. The study consisted of two specific objectives: evaluate the homologous protection of experimental bacterins against SLD, and evaluate heterologous protection of experimental bacterins against SLD. The project provided evidence that a multistrain bacterin can be further developed to confer broad protection against SLD caused by C. hepaticus, which could ultimately lead to the advancement of commercialized vaccines, contributing to the enhanced productivity and sustainability of the layer industry. 

Source: US Poultry & Egg Association