AEROSOL VACCINATION OF CHICKENS WITH THE V4 STRAIN OF NEWCASTLE DISEASE VIRUS

SUMMARY Two-week-old chickens, free of detectable maternal antibody to Newcastle disease virus (NDV), or with low levels of maternal antibody, were vaccinated with the V4 strain of NDV. Haemagglutination inhibition (HI) antibodies were determined at intervals after vaccination. Two hundred chickens were vaccinated by exposure to an aerosol, a dose of 10⁶ 50% embryo infectious doses (EID⁵⁰) being allowed per chicken. Forty unvaccinated chickens were placed in direct contact with vaccinated chickens. Most of the vaccinated chickens and the incontact chickens had developed HI antibodies of titre ≥ 8 within 2 weeks of vaccination. The HI antibodies in many chickens persisted for at least 8 weeks. Control chickens in a shed 15 metres from the shed containing the vaccinated chickens did not develop HI antibodies to NDV. NDV could be isolated from some vaccinated chickens for 15 days after vaccination. An aerosol dose of 10⁵EID₅₀ per chicken failed to induce a serological response in 2 groups of 40 chickens each. HI antibodies were produced in 1 of 2 groups, each of 40 chickens, vaccinated with 10⁶EID₅₀ and in both of 2 groups of 40 chickens each vaccinated with 10⁷EID₅₀. Duplicate groups of 40 chickens were vaccinated with 10⁶EID₅₀ of V4 virus per chicken administered either as an aerosol, a coarse spray or a droplet placed in the conjunctival sac. HI antibodies were produced in all the groups of chickens.