A practical method for assessing infectious laryngotracheitis vaccine take in broilers following mass administration in water: Spatial and temporal variation in viral genome content of poultry dust after vaccination

We report the longitudinal profile of ILTV genome copies (GC) in poultry house dust collected on settle plates following vaccination of 8 flocks of commercial meat chickens on four farms. ILTV GC was enumerated using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). There was considerable variation between flocks in the levels of ILTV GC detected post vaccination and this variation was significantly associated with vaccine take measured in individual birds in a companion study. There was no effect of sampling location on ILTV GC in dust but the amount of dust collected was greater in locations closer the exhaust fans in artificially ventilated houses. Results indicate that measurement of ILTV GC in single or pooled dust samples at 7–8 days post vaccination enables detection of poor vaccine takes and provides a practical means of monitoring ILT vaccination.
Source: Veterinary Microbiology - Category: Veterinary Research Source Type: research