‘Vaccines to fight fowl adenovirus urgently needed’

POULTRY industry players are urging the government to fast-track the importation of vaccines against fowl adenovirus to curb the spread of inclusion body hepatitis (IBH).

Gregorio San Diego, chairman of the United Broiler Raisers Association and the Philippine Egg Board Association, said the country is in dire need of vaccines against fowl adenovirus, which causes IBH. The spread of IBH is now a growing concern for the industry and authorities.

“The government should fasttrack the approval and importation of vaccines [against fowl adenovirus] just like what it did against Covid-19. One of the problems in addressing adenovirus is the lack of vaccine supplies,” San Diego told the Businessmirror in an interview.

The government recently confirmed the rising cases of IBH in the domestic poultry population, exacerbating the production woes of fowl raisers who continue to reel from high input costs due to disruptions to global supply chains. (Related story: https://businessmirror. com.ph/2022/06/30/poultryraisers-issue-warning-on-spreadof-fowl-adenovirus/)

The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture, earlier issued special import permits for autogenous vaccines against IBH.

University of the Philippines-los Baños Professor Sherwin Camba said autogenous vaccination is the best option to combat IBH. Autogenous vaccination involves administering a vaccine that is made out of the specific serotype of IBH affecting a given poultry population.

Camba, who is part of the technical group conducting surveillance on IBH, disclosed that the country’s available killed vaccine against IBH is only effective against two serotypes of the virus.

IBH has 12 serotypes and the locally available killed IBH vaccine is effective against serotype 4 and 8, but the prevailing serotype affecting domestic poultry farms today is 8-B, Camba added.

“That is why we need to import [the autogenous vaccines] if we want to do the vaccination against the same serotype,” he told the Businessmirror.

“The best way to control the disease is vaccination. Poultry raisers are willing to vaccinate their flocks but the problem is supply. There is demand but there is a supply problem.”

San Diego also warned that fowl adenovirus could spread faster than the bird flu virus as some infected poultry show no symptoms or are “asymptomatic.”

“The virus spreads both horizontally and vertically, meaning it can spread across other poultry and can spread from the parent stocks,” he said.

“I am worried that the situation may worsen since this disease spreads faster since some infected poultry do not exhibit symptoms, thereby putting at risk other birds.”

San Diego also noted that the government does not have an indemnification system for fowl adenovirus, which discourages poultry farm owners from collaborating with the government.

He said the government should consider putting in place an indemnification system similar to that created for farms hit by bird flu to encourage poultry raisers to report unusual mortality in their farms.

BAI Executive Director Reildrin G. Morales said IBH has always been considered as a “disease of farm concern.” However, the industry saw an uptick in IBH cases this year.

The disease, which is caused by fowl adenovirus, is not harmful to humans since it is not zoonotic, government and private experts said.

“Our data shows that we have concerns with IBH. The cases are quite high,” said Morales, who also serves as the country’s chief veterinary officer.

“This disease [poses] a threat to our poultry production due to the high mortality rate. And all threats that will affect our harvest and growth of chickens will have an impact on our supply.”