Performance of an automated whole-house spray vaccination system

Abstract

Recent catastrophic disease events have highlighted the need for improved disease prevention measures. Improved biosecurity and vaccination programs can aid in reducing animal population and economic losses. Performance of a prototype automated whole-house spray vaccination system was evaluated over 3 flocks in a commercial breeder pullet house. Birds were spray vaccinated for infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) and Newcastle disease virus (NDV) using the automated system in one house and with a typical backpack blower-based sprayer in another house for comparison. Results showed that the automated system improved both seroconversion and geometric mean titer (GMT) as compared to the backpack spray crew. Mean GMT for both IBV and NDV were more than doubled (2.4× and 8.6×, respectively); seroconversions were also significantly improved for IBV (69.4 vs. 39.8%) and NDV (69.6 vs. 17.6%). Adoption of an automated whole-house spray vaccination system may provide significantly improved protection for loose-housed poultry when compared to backpack sprayers while improving biosecurity through minimizing human-to-bird contact.