News

ACI is holding the first position in poultry vaccine and its current market share is about 45%. The total commercial poultry population is about 10 billion in Bangladesh. Respiratory disease outbreaks with variable mortality rates and different clinical manifestations have been increasing in poultry in this country.

A collaborative research initiative has been planned by ACI, CEVA and Department of Pathology, Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU), to assess the present state of circulating respiratory viruses in poultry and to propose solutions of respiratory disease management for the poultry industry. This is the first such intensive study on respiratory co-infections in poultry in Bangladesh and it will focus on the characterization of five respiratory pathogens (IB, ILT, H9N2, H5N1, ND virus).

The duration of the research project is about 18 months and it is sponsored by ACI and Ceva. Samples of this study will be collected from 300 farms (100-layer, 100 broiler and 100 sonali -local color broiler- farms) from different geographical areas by the Department of Pathology of BAU with the help of ACI. Another partner, FLI, national and OIE/FAO Reference laboratory for Newcastle Disease/Avian Influenza (Germany) will provide free-of-charge scientific support and services to this project

The launching ceremony of the research project on “respiratory co-infections in poultry” was held on 21 April 2022. Dr. Debashis Das, the acting Director General of DLS (Department of Livestock Services) virtually joined as chief guest while Prof. Dr. Md. Mokbul Hossain, Dean, Faculty of Veterinary Science, BAU and Mr. Moshiur Rahman, President, BPICC joined as special guests of this event. They delivered their valuable speech on the importance of such a research project for our poultry industry. Dr FH Ansarey (President, Agribusiness, and ACI), Dr. Anant Wadkar (Country Director, India & South Asia, and CEVA), Dr. Marcelo Paniago (Director of Veterinary Services, Ceva), Dr. Timm Harder (Friedrich Loeffler Institute, Germany), Renowned Prof. Dr. Md. Rafiqul Islam, Prof. Rokshana Parvin and Dr. Munmun Pervin from BAU also spoke and highlighted key issues of the project. Mr. Shaheen Shah, Dr.Md.A.Saleque, Dr. Moynul Islam and other senior technical officials from ACI, and Dr. Saiful Islam and other experts from CEVA also attended the virtual launching ceremony.

Over 300 Poultry industry leaders, members of different poultry associations, University teachers, technical experts, practitioners, journalists, ACI & CEVA technical staff virtually joined the ceremony.

It is expected that the survey will enable us to generate a picture of circulating respiratory viruses in poultry in the targeted regions, analyze seasonal variability and most importantly find solutions for better management of respiratory diseases envisaged for the poultry industry, including an optimized vaccination strategy.

Report written by
Dr. Md. A. Saleque, Chief Technical Advisor, ACI
Dr. Moynul Islam, Business Manager, ACI