By Karn Dhingra
When a strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza, HPAI, tore through U.S. poultry farms in early 2025, farmers culled tens of millions of birds and egg prices soared.
The losses highlighted the poultry industry’s urgent need for additional tools and methods to limit the virus’ spread.
Now, researchers from the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences are preparing to test a new potential line of defense. They will use a form of ultraviolet light called far-UVC, to see if it can kill HPAI, without harming birds on poultry farms.
“The current HPAI outbreak began around 2022 and hasn’t ended,” said Morgan Farnell, Ph.D., avian microbiology and immunology professor, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service program leader and associate department head in the Texas A&M Department of Poultry Science, “Avian influenza is still being found in Texas wildlife. It is not considered to be endemic in the U.S. and is classified as a reportable poultry disease.”
Farnell and Ziteng “Tim” Xu, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Research smart technologies in poultry production scientist and assistant professor, Department of Poultry Science, will lead the third and final phase of a multiyear study starting in February, examining whether far-UVC light can reduce airborne pathogen loads inside commercial poultry houses.
Source : tamu.edu