According to The Poultry Site, infectious bursal disease or IBD is one of the most common diseases in poultry and also the most misunderstood. They spoke with Kalen Cookson, DVM, who is a poultry veterinarian with Zoetis. He shared the most common misconceptions people have about IBD in broilers.

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Hens Transfer IBD to Progeny

Unlike the reovirus disease, Cookson says there is no vertical transmission of this virus from hen to progeny. He also states that there should hopefully be a transfer of maternal antibodies.

IBD Variants Are Hard to Identify

Cookson shares that they rely on molecular typing, especially sequencing analysis. Therefore, they have a good idea of what it is when they get a sequence on a virus based on how homologous the sample is to the past variants, as those are now well-characterized.

High IBD Challenge = Exotic Form

This usually means there is a deficit in the program used. The killed antigens might not be sufficiently cross-protective, or they are not being expressed adequately and thus unsuccessfully transferred from the hen to progeny.

All IBD Vaccines Have the Same Function

There are three types of IBD vaccines for broilers. Each vaccine has a different mechanism of action. There are recombinant vaccines (HVT-IBD) vaccines, conventional modified-live vaccines, and immune-complex vaccines.

You Can Use Either a Recombinant or Modified-live IBD Vaccine as a Priming Vaccine

Presently, more people are using recombinant vaccines in the hatchery. While it can protect the pullet from IBD virus effects, it must not be used as a replacement for the strong conventional live vaccines as a prime vaccine.

Not Using Antibiotics Has No Impact on IBD-Management

Cookson says that eliminating the use of the necessary tools can make this challenging. With the recent pressure to eliminate antibiotics, it will be difficult to control early challenges faced by diseases like reovirus and IBD virus.

High IBD Challenge Requires Novel Management Strategies

Cookson believes that it all comes down to a lack of something fundamental to the program. He says it might be due to inadequate breeder flock priming or the poor application of killed vaccines.

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Trish Valenzuela, CPC/ PRC • Poultry Recruiter

Trish Valenzuela specializes in recruiting for poultry feed additive companies. She has filled positions in technical support, sales, and sales management across the USA.

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