Control, Suppression, And Monitoring Of Infectious Laryngotracheitis In A Multiage Commercial Layer Pullet Farm In Canada

A multiage commercial layer pullet operation with a history of chicken embryo-origin (CEO) modified live infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT) virus vaccination suffered severe ILT outbreaks in 2017. The initial sequencing revealed that the circulating virus was of vaccine origin. Changes to the timing and dosage of CEO ILT vaccine failed to control the outbreak. The clinical resolution of the outbreak occurred with the transition to a turkey herpesvirus vector vaccine given in-hatchery, followed by a tissue culture-origin vaccine given on the farm. The circulating ILT viruses were monitored periodically by next-generation sequencing. This site became free of ILT virus within 1 yr after implementing the new vaccination program.