In ovo application of a live infectious bursal disease vaccine to commercial broilers confers proper immunity

Infectious bursal disease (IBD) is an economically important disease of young chickens caused by the Avibirnavirus infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV). Besides biosecurity, vaccination is the most important measure for IBDV control. Sufficient levels of maternally derived antibodies (MDA) protect against early challenge and also interfere with the take of live conventional vaccines. Recently, the field surveys conducted in four countries, published by Ashash, U., Noach, C., Perelman, B., Costello, C., Sansalone, P., Brazil, T. & Raviv, Z. [(2019). In ovo and day of hatch application of a live infectious bursal disease virus vaccine to commercial broilers. Avian Diseases, 63, 713-720] using the MB-1 vaccine strain by in ovo application or sub-cutaneous route at the day of hatch seem to conflict with the rule that very early application of a conventional live vaccine in birds with significant levels of MDA has very little chance of a successful immune response. An in ovo vaccination-challenge controlled experiment with MB-1 vaccine was performed using commercial broilers with high levels of MDA against IBDV and a vvIBDV challenge at 22 or 36 days of age. Clinical signs, bursa-bodyweight ratios, histology, serology, RT-PCR, Sanger- and deep sequencing were used to study the efficacy and safety of the in ovo-applied MB1 vaccine in comparison to an established immuno-complex vaccine. The study findings confirmed that the in ovo application of the live MB-1 vaccine in commercial broilers was successful and induced full protection against a vvIBDV challenge at 22 and 36 days of age, demonstrated by the bursa lesion score and qPCR and IBDV genotyping. Comparable to the field studies, a delayed viral replication of 2-3 weeks, following the in ovo administration of the MB1 vaccine, was observed.