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Attenuated live vaccines that protect poultry against Newcastle Disease may be altering the genetic makeup of the wild virus strains, which could make future outbreaks unpredictable and difficult to tackle, according to biologists.
Newcastle Disease is an economically devastating poultry disease that costs the industry millions of dollars. "Many vaccines in the animal industry are developed by modifying a virulent live virus," said Mary Poss, professor of biology and veterinary and biomedical sciences, Penn State. "These vaccines elicit a strong protection against disease." However, vaccinated birds can shed the vaccine virus to infect other birds, and live virus vaccines do not always protect birds from infection from other viral strains of Newcastle Disease.
Unpredictable new strains
Poss and her Penn State colleagues Yee Ling Chong, graduate student in biology; Abinash Padhi, post-doctoral fellow and Peter J. Hudson, Willaman professor of biology, found that one vaccine strain recombined -- exchanged genetic material -- with at least three wild strains, creating new viruses. These viruses are found in both domestic and wild birds. The team's findings appeared April 22 in PLoS Pathogens. "Our findings indicate that birds can be simultaneously infected with the live virus vaccine and several other strains of this avian virus," said Poss. "This raises concerns that modified live virus vaccines, though effective, may combine with circulating viruses to create unpredictable new strains."
Viral recombination
A modified live virus vaccine is essentially a weakened virus that does not cause disease but mimics a natural infection that in turn evokes a strong immune response from the infected host. But Poss argues that vaccination may be unwittingly increasing the diversity of Newcastle Disease viruses that are circulating in wild birds. For instance, many poultry farmers typically vaccinate the flock by mixing the vaccine in the birds' drinking water or by aerosol, which means wild birds and pigeons can also become infected with the vaccine virus. This sets up the opportunity for viral recombination. A bird is infected with two different viruses at the same time, one from the weakened vaccine and one naturally, and both viruses then infect the same cell. In addition to the possibility of creating new viruses, different strains of the virus that causes Newcastle disease may be evolving in different environments.
Be aware of consequences
Recombination among these strains could bring together genes that have multiple means to evade immunity in a host. Poss added that vaccine developers need to be aware of the potential for driving virus evolution using modified live viruses and should instead consider using killed or inactivated viruses. Scientists are already using that approach against Newcastle Disease in some areas but not globally. "We need to step up the surveillance and monitoring of viral diseases in poultry and wild birds," said Poss. "We need to be aware that management practices including the use of live virus vaccines can change viral diversity and the consequences of such changes will not be evident for several generations."
