The U.S. Poultry & Egg Association (USPOULTRY) recently completed a funded research project that may make significant headway in the industry’s ongoing commitment to avian influenza prevention. Researchers at Auburn University, where the project was completed, were able to show ways to inactivate avian influenza virus in poultry feed.

This research is the first completed project that was funded as part of USPOULTRY’s emergency funding approval of $550,000 in October 2015 following last year’s highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak. The rest of the projects are set to be completed on a fast track over the next several months.

The following is a brief summary of the completed project. A more detailed summary can be found here, and a complete report, along with information on other Association research can be found online here.

The poultry industry is concerned about all potential means of avian influenza virus (AIV) spread during an outbreak. Although pelleting of feed effectively inactivates any potential AIV in feed, not all poultry feeds are pelleted. In a recently completed research project, Dr. Haroldo Toro at the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine found that commercially available and approved formaldehyde-based products very effectively and quickly inactivate AIV in poultry feed. This research provides practical new information about how to control AIV spread during an outbreak.

(Dr. Haroldo Toro, Auburn University, Auburn, Ala.)