Protection Conferred by a Live Avian Metapneumovirus Vaccine when Co-Administered with Live La Sota Newcastle Disease Vaccine in Chicks

This paper examines the effects on specific pathogen-free (SPF) chicks when avian metapneumovirus (aMPV) and Newcastle disease virus (NDV) La Sota strain vaccines are co-administered. Day-old SPF chicks were divided into five groups. The first group was inoculated with sterile water (SW) and the rest of the groups were inoculated with live NDV vaccine VG/GA by the oculo-oral route. At 21 days-old, the unvaccinated chicks were again inoculated with SW. The four VG/GA-vaccinated groups were further inoculated with (i) SW, (ii) live aMPV vaccine, (iii) live NDV La Sota, or (iv) combined live NDV La Sota and live aMPV, respectively. Chicks were monitored for post-vaccination reactions and oropharyngeal swabs were collected for vaccines detection. Blood samples were collected to detect aMPV ELISA and NDV haemagglutination-inhibition antibodies. Twenty-one days following the second vaccination, six chicks from each group were challenged with virulent NDV or aMPV respectively. Chicks were monitored for clinical signs and mortality and oropharyngeal swabs collected for aMPV detection. Results showed that, when challenged with a virulent aMPV, both chicks previously vaccinated with VG/GA and subsequently given aMPV vaccine singly or in combination with La Sota were equally protected against clinical signs. Chicks that were vaccinated against NDV either once with VG/GA or followed by La Sota (singly or in combination with aMPV) were fully protected when challenged with velogenic NDV. We concluded that simultaneous administration of live aMPV and NDV La Sota vaccines have no adverse effects on protection conferred by either live vaccine.