A rapidly spreading respiratory disease is creating new challenges for U.S. poultry producers. New research aims to strengthen both immediate and long-term options for protecting chickens and turkeys.
The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR), South Dakota State University and the USPOULTRY are investing $250,000 through the Rapid Outcomes from Agricultural Research program to evaluate how well imported vaccines protect against U.S. strains of avian metapneumovirus and advance the development of a new vaccine based on a U.S. strain of the virus.
Why it matters:
Avian metapneumovirus, or aMPV, is a highly contagious virus that causes respiratory disease in poultry. Subtypes A and B emerged in the U.S. in late 2023 and early 2024 and quickly spread across poultry-producing states, causing significant economic losses.
In response, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Center for Veterinary Biologics granted conditional approval for imported live attenuated vaccines based on European virus strains. After about a year of use, poultry producers and researchers have questioned how well these vaccines protect against genetically distinct strains circulating in the U.S.
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