title: Protective antibody response following oral vaccination of feral pigeons (Columba livia) with Newcastle disease vaccine (strain I-2) coated on oiled rice.
abstract: The novel vaccination technique for feral pigeons was developed in the present study. Multi-age feral pigeons were vaccinated orally with Newcastle disease (ND) strain I-2 vaccine coated on oiled rice. The results showed that 14 days after vaccination 40% of pigeons seroconverted with HI GMT of ≥3 log₂ whereas 28 days after vaccination the seroconversion rate of these birds reached 100%. Moreover, all vaccinated pigeons survived the challenge of virulent Newcastle disease virus (NDV). The findings from the present study indicated that the use of ND (strain I-2) vaccine in feral pigeons is feasible and resulted into the production of protective antibody response. Thus ND I-2 vaccine may prevent the spread of NDV to other birds particularly chickens. Furthermore the use of oral vaccine in feral multi-age pigeons overcomes the difficulty of catching these birds for individual vaccination.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Parasitology, Sokoine University of Agriculture, P. O. Box 3019, Chuo Kikuu, Morogoro, Tanzania. phil_wambura@yahoo.com
authors.forename: P N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Wambura
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wilson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000917:Antibody Formation / Q000276:immunology; D010856:Columbidae / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*; D004306:Dose-Response Relationship, Immunologic; D009521:Newcastle Disease / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000821:virology; D009522:Newcastle disease virus / Q000276:immunology*; D014611:Vaccination / Q000662:veterinary; D014765:Viral Vaccines / Q000276:immunology / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D014765:Viral Vaccines