Campylobacter vaccination of poultry

Background:

Most human cases of Campylobacter infections are associated with consumption of poultry products. Vaccination of poultry preventing early colonization of Campylobacter could be one of the intervention strategies.

There are three challenges in developing this vaccine:

(1) the identification of novel cross-protection-inducing antigens,

(2) the induction of a rapid, potent immune response, 

(3) the development of novel adjuvants to further stimulate immunity against Campylobacter.

The rapidly emerging knowledge of the biology of Campylobacter in combination with advances in the fields of molecular vaccinology and immunology provide the setting for the development of a vaccine. No commercial Campylobacter vaccine is currently available.

Vision: Cost-effective production of low-risk chickens.

Aim: To develop a cost-effective vaccination strategy, based on three current candidate vaccines and delivery systems.