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| The European Commission approved Merck Animal Health's poultry vaccine to help protect chickens against viral infectious bronchitis.--Coutesy of Timophey Tkachik, CC BY-SA 3.0 |
The European Commission approved Merck ($MRK) Animal Health's poultry vaccine NOBILIS IB Primo QX to help protect chickens against viral infectious bronchitis.
The virus is caused by QX-like infectious bronchitis variants. Merck Animal Health is known as MSD Animal Health outside the U.S. The vaccine uses Sphereon technology in the EU, which involves freeze drying live vaccines into "small, highly soluble particles (spheres)" that are packaged for easy dose sizes, the company said in a news release.
"We are pleased that the European Commission has approved NOBILIS IB Primo QX," Ian Tarpey, Executive Director, Global Poultry R&D, Merck Animal Health, said in a statement. "The QX strain of infectious bronchitis virus has become increasingly common, and NOBILIS IB Primo QX will be an important tool for producers due to its proven efficacy and its easy administration method."
NOBILIS IB Primo QX is administered to chickens at least one day after hatching by spraying onto the chickens or by applying by eye-drop. It provides protection for eight weeks. The vaccine can also be mixed with NOBILIS IB Ma5 to provide additional protection against Massachusetts strains of the infectious bronchitis virus.
- see the release
- read The Poultry Site's take
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