ARS | Publication request: Current influenza vaccines for poultry and other animal species

Submitted to: Meeting Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings/Symposium
Publication Acceptance Date: January 3, 2008
Publication Date: August 1, 2008
Citation: Bublot, M., Karaca, K., Minke, J., Pritchard, N., Le Gros, F., Poulet, H., Audonnet, J., Swayne, D.E., Nordgren, R. 2008. Current influenza vaccines for poultry and other animal species. In: Tripp, R.A., editor. Immunobiology of Influenza Infection: Approaches for an Emerging Zoonotic Disease. Athens, GA: Research Signpost. p. 117-136.

Technical Abstract: Influenza A infections are common in domestic poultry, swine, and equine species and occasionally involve dogs and cats. They may cause a variety of clinical pictures from asymptomatic to highly lethal infection. Although biosecurity measures may be sufficient to control influenza infection of domestic animals in epizootic situation, vaccination is usually needed to prevent the disease in enzootic situation. Different types of influenza vaccines are used in the veterinary field; the most widely used being the inactivated vaccines. They are usually made from adjuvanted whole or split viruses produced in embryonated eggs. Biotechnology has allowed the development of new types of flu vaccines, including replicative (chickens) or non-replicative (horses) vector vaccines and reverse genetics-based influenza vaccines. The first licensed vector vaccine was a replicative fowlpox-based vector vaccine that expresses an H5 hemagglutinin (HA) gene. This vaccine is used in one-day-old chickens and protects against a wide panel of highly pathogenic (HP) H5 avian influenza (AI) viruses. Optimal immunization schemes for long lived chickens include a second vaccination with a heterologous H5 inactivated vaccine. This heterologous prime-boost scheme was shown to induce a broader humoral response than two administrations of inactivated vaccines in chickens and in ducks, and it presents interesting properties. Newcastle disease virus-based vector vaccines are also being developed against AI, especially for mass and mucosal administration. A cold-adapted intranasal vaccine and a non-replicative canarypox vector-based vaccine have been licensed for horses. The latter was shown to provide earlier onset and longer duration of immunity compared to the inactivated vaccines. Similar canarypox or fowlpox non-replicative vectors were shown to be immunogenic in cats, dogs, and pigs. Other approaches such as reverse genetics modified-live vaccines have shown promising data and may also come to the market in the near future. Safety and efficacy data obtained with these new technology influenza vaccines in the veterinary field may help to design improved influenza vaccines for humans.