New University of Liverpool research reveals that the immune response of farmed chickens does not develop fast enough to fight off Campylobacter during their short lifespan. The findings have important implications in the challenge towards developing a poultry vaccine for the bug, which is the UK’s leading cause of food poisoning.
New University of Liverpool research reveals that the immune response of farmed chickens does not develop fast enough to fight off Campylobacter during their short lifespan. The findings have important implications in the challenge towards developing a poultry vaccine for the bug, which is the UK’s leading cause of food poisoning.
As both a public health and animal welfare issue, finding a way to control Campylobacter infection is a priority for the poultry industry. There are currently no commercial vaccines and their development is hampered by poor understanding of the immunobiology of the infection.
First study of its kind
In the first study of functional immunity to Campylobacter jejuni in the chicken, researchers have shown that antibody production plays a role, albeit limited, in the clearance of intestinal infection. However, it fails to clear the bacterium within the lifetime of a commercial broiler chicken, which is typically around six weeks of age.
Professor Paul Wigley, from the University’s Institute of Infection and Global Health, said: “Our findings suggest that any Campylobacter vaccine relying solely on an antibody response is unlikely to be effective in broiler chickens.”
Read more at University of Liverpool
Photo credit: Gavin Schaefer (Uxud) via Wikimedia Commons
