The U.S. Poultry & Egg Association (USPOULTRY) and the USPOULTRY Foundation announced the completion of a funded research project by researchers at North Carolina State University that showed not only that nontoxic segments of Clostridium septicum alpha toxin (ATX) possess a protective ability against experimental clostridial dermatitis (CD) infection of turkeys and can be suitable vaccine candidates but also that both parenteral and oral routes of vaccination can protect turkeys against CD.

The research, made possible in part by an endowing USPOULTRY Foundation gift from Prestage Farms, is part of the association’s comprehensive research program encompassing all phases of poultry and egg production and processing. A summary of the completed project follows.

Project #BRF-014, “Development of a Probiotic-Based Recombinant Oral Vectored-Vaccine against Clostridial Dermatitis in Turkeys,” was led by Dr. Ravi Kulkarni with the North Carolina State University Department of Population Health & Pathobiology in the College of Veterinary Medicine.

There were three objectives for this study:

Related:IFF launches DFM solution to boost poultry welfare

CD, caused predominantly by C. septicum, is an economically important disease of turkeys characterized by necrotic dermatitis and sudden death. Disease control strategies such as improved management, feeding probiotics and others have been tried with variable success, according to the research summary. Previous research showed that C. septicum ATX is a key factor in producing CD and that protection against CD seems to depend on ATX antibodies.

Although these studies used toxoid vaccinations, a better approach involving a systematic and rational vaccine design and development would be of important industry value, the summary noted.

Through the recent study, Kulkarni and other researchers from North Carolina State University identified nontoxic domains of ATX (ntATX) and developed two probiotic Lactococcus lactis-based vaccines expressing ntATX antigens that could be used to immunize turkeys against CD: 1) recombinant subunit vaccines for parenteral immunization, and 2) oral probiotic bacterial (L. lactis) vector-based vaccines, which may offer protection against CD while improving gut health in turkeys by offering their probiotic benefits.

Related:Time for new strategies to combat infectious bursal disease virus in poultry

Findings showed that the nontoxic segments of C. septicum ATX possess a protective ability against experimental CD infection of turkeys and, hence, can be suitable vaccine candidates. Further, employing both the subcutaneous and oral routes of vaccination can protect turkeys against CD.

Considering the importance of CD in turkeys both in terms of poultry health and economy, this work is timely in yielding a viable and promising non-antibiotic-based strategy for preventing this devastating disease, the USPOULTRY summary noted, adding that this vaccine discovery will open new research-based strategies in controlling many other economically important diseases affecting poultry, including developing Lactobacillus probiotic-based oral vaccines against CD in turkeys and chickens.

The research summary can be found on the USPOULTRY website.

USPOULTRY is a nonprofit organization based in Tucker, Ga., that progressively serves its poultry and egg members through research, education, communications and technical services. The USPOULTRY Foundation's mission is to support the recruitment and training of the brightest students, seek and fund scientific research, foster student scientists and promote careers in the poultry and egg industry.

Related:USDA approves first aMPV live vaccine import for U.S. poultry