Prof. Venugopal Nair
Avian oncogenic virus group, Pirbright Institute, United Kingdom
Abstract:
Global Food Security is at the top of the international political agenda to meet the growing population demands across the world. Poultry meat and eggs are a major source of protein that makes a substantial contribution in meeting these demands, and poultry has overtaken the other livestock sectors in providing high quality proteins. Despite the unprecedented growth, the poultry industry will have to make continuous growth over 25% in the coming decades to meet the global demand expected at 2050. One of the greatest threats to the sustainability and growth of the poultry industry comes from the impact of infectious diseases, particularly those caused by a plethora of viral pathogens, many of which are endemic in poultry farms. These pathogens threaten avian health through manifestations of immunosuppression, loss of productivity, multiple organ pathology, cancer and mortality. Precise estimates of the economic impact of diseases on the poultry industry are difficult to obtain, but losses due to infectious diseases account for around 20% of production. In addition, diseases such as avian influenza are a substantial threat to human health.
Vaccination using a multitude of vaccines is still the cornerstone of the control strategy against avian diseases and have served well in sustaining the growth of the industry for the last 4-5 decades. But the rapid expansion and high density of poultry production, extensive pathogen diversity and immunosuppressive effects, are putting pressure on current vaccination-based control strategy. There has been a recent surge in the use of new technology vaccines based on recombinant vectors or immune complexes, although many of the fundamental problems remain to be addressed. Similarly advances in genome technologies and recombinant vectors allow us to explore new opportunities for combating avian diseases and protecting avian health for a sustainable poultry production in the coming decades.