Efficacy of inactivated velogenic Newcastle disease virus genotype VII ‎vaccine in broiler chickens

Newcastle disease (ND) causes severe economic losses in poultry production. Despite the intensive vaccination regimes of NDV in Egypt, many outbreaks are being reported. The present study focused on the preparation and evaluation of inactivated velogenic Newcastle disease virus vaccine (genotype VII) isolated from Egyptian broiler chicken during 2015-2016. Fifty-five tissue samples including trachea, lung, liver, proventriculus, intestine, and kidney collected from commercial broiler chickens were used for virus isolation in specific pathogen-free embryonated chicken eggs (ECE) and identified using RT-PCR and sequencing. The isolates were classified by sequencing as velogenic NDV genotype VIId containing F0 protein cleavage site motifs (112RRQKRF117). A selected isolate was served as a master seed for the preparation of inactivated NDV vaccine with or without Montanide ISA70 adjuvant and evaluated in SPF chicks. Nine NDV isolates were isolated on ECE and the highest infectivity titer of the virus was 7.50 log10 EID50 mL-1 by the 5th passage. Vaccinated chicks with NDV-Montanide ISA70 adjuvanted vaccine exhibited antibody titer of 5.20 log2 at the 3rd-week-post-vaccination (WPV) with the highest titer (8.90 log2 mL-1) at the 6th-WPV. Protective antibodies values were persisted to 12th WPV followed by a gradual decrease to the end of the experiment (16th weeks). Vaccination of chicks with inactivated NDV isolate without adjuvant failed to induce protective HI antibodies all over the experiment. Chickens vaccinated with the ISA70 adjuvant vaccine were passed homologous challenge tests with 100% protective efficiency, while the unadjuvanted vaccine could not provide any protective efficiency. In conclusion, the preparation of inactivated oil adjuvant vaccine from NDV field circulating strains was efficient in controlling the disease in Egypt.