Preparation and evaluation of inactivated avian Metapneumovirus vaccine from recently isolated Egyptian strain

Inactivated avian Metapneumovirus (aMPV) or turkey rhinotracheitis (TRT) virus vaccine was prepared from an Egyptian strain (Giza TRT-4). The virus was propagated in Vero cells and inactivated by binary ethyleneimine. The inactivated virus solution was tested for its sterility, purity, and safety. Then, it was mixed withNigella sativa oil as nonspecific immune-stimulant adjuvant. Physical characterization of oil prepared vaccine like viscosity and emulsion stability was investigated. An experiment was designed to evaluate the locally prepared aMPV vaccine in a comparison to commercial vaccines either inactivated or live attenuated. The obtained results showed that the locally prepared aMPV vaccine gave significantly higher humoral immune response when measured by ELISA and significantly higher cell mediated immunity by evaluating phagocytic activity of inoculated turkey poults with higher protection rate reached up to 100% after challenge with wild-type virus.