Newcastle Disease Vaccines: Current Research and Future Trends

Dear Colleagues,

Newcastle disease (ND) is a major limiting factor for poultry production in many countries. Vaccination of flocks is considered an effective way to control ND. Both live-attenuated and killed vaccines have been used for more than 70 years. However, these vaccines are not completely satisfactory. Available vaccines induce protection against clinical disease, but they do not prevent infection and virus shedding, which may lead to spread of the virus to other birds. Therefore, there is a great need to improve current ND vaccines. Although all NDV strains belong to a single serotype, there is antigenic variation among NDV strains. There are reports of vaccine failure in many NDV enzootic areas. It is thought that this might be due to inadequate immunity as a result of antigenic differences between the vaccine strains and the circulating field strains. Studies have also shown that antigen-matched ND vaccines provide better protection than antigen-mismatched ND vaccines. In this exciting era of NDV reverse genetics, it is possible to design improved recombinant ND vaccines. However, despite extensive research an optimal ND vaccine is not yet available. This Special Issue will equally value evaluations of currently available ND vaccines and new innovative ND vaccines. Any new approach that can improve ND vaccination in the field is welcome.

Prof. Dr. Siba K. Samal
Guest Editor

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