Philippines: Newcastle Disease vaccine set for expanded use

According to the Bureau of Agricultural Research of the Department of Agriculture, plans to expand the use of the vaccine against Newcastle Disease (ND) in central and southern Philippines are now being finalised.

The vaccine is the product of a research project which was undertaken by the DA Regional Field Unit 7 (RFU 7) and the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI).

Winning Newcastle Disease Vaccine
Recently, a report on the project entitled "Efficacy of locally-developed Inactivated Oil Emulsion Newcastle Disease Vaccine in Native Chicken" won the 2007 PSAS (Philippine Society of Animal Science) award (Health and Welfare category).

Research showed that the vaccine is cheaper than the commercially prepared ones, and can considerably help eliminate ND - even within the free range production management system of native chicken.

According to Dr. Aquino who has been working on the vaccine for 3 years,   "Given the utility and application of the local ND vaccines, a 100% survival rate is expected when applied properly compared to zero for unvaccinated native chicken during production management."

Native chicken has long been the main source of meat and eggs in rural areas. It constitutes 57% of the country's total poultry production.

Vaccination is the most effective preventive measure against Newcastle Disease; it is not a common practice among backyard poultry raisers, the DA-RFU 7 noted. This is due to vaccines being expensive and are mostly imported, making them not readily available.

With the new vaccine, the DA-Central Visayas Integrated Agricultural Research Center (CENVIARC) expects to vaccinate most of the upgraded native chicken population in Central Visayas.

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