October 31, 2007

 

UK egg marketing board sponsors research to tackle poultry problems

 

 

A British marketing trust fund is sponsoring three research projects targeted at common problems faced in poultry farming. 

 

The three initiatives financed by the British Egg Marketing Board (BEMB) would tackle red mite, E coli and avian spirochaetosis, problems common to egg farming.

 

Red mite is a vexing problem to the free range egg sector, which has seen rising popularity in recent years.

 

BEMB is investing in an on-going three-year project at Moredun Research Institute to develop a vaccine effective against the pest.

 

It granted GBP 20,000 (US$41,382) to Dr Alasdair Nisbet to build on results achieved in the first year, which has already demonstrated proof of principle. Dr Nisbet now aims to expand his EST dataset to contain thousands of gene sequences that would open the door to more research funding.

 

BEMB is also sponsoring initial work on an inactivated e.coli vaccine at the University of Nottingham School of Veterinary Medicine and Science. The year-long project would be supervised by Professor Paul Barrow who hopes to attract further industry funding with a view to commercial development. The project would begin next year.

 

BEMB is also sponsoring a four-year PhD project to be headed by Roberto La Ragione at Veterinary Laboratories Agency looking at intervention strategies for avian spirochaetosis.

 

The disease involves the bacterium Borrelia anserina infecting poultry, with morbidity and mortality up to 100 percent,

 

Other bacterial strains associated with the disease causes inflammation of the large intestine in a broad range of mammals and birds. It has been associated with typhilitis, diarrhoea, reduced egg production, and egg soiling in chickens

 

The disease is becoming increasingly important to free range and barn egg producers and a solution is desperately needed. There is scant knowledge about the disease and producers are struggling to address the problem, which can reappear in treated flocks.

 

The BEMB Trust is the largest independent research funding body for the British egg production industry.