Marek’s Disease

Marek’s disease (MD) is a highly contagious herpes virus that attacks chickens’ lymphoid cells, which can cause lymphoma in the nerves, paralysis, tumours, enlarged follicles, high mortality, egg production losses and increased bird condemnations at processing plants. MD is carried in the nerves for life; and birds, when stressed, can shed the disease in their skin dander where the virus can live for years. Once the disease enters a poultry house or coop, it becomes nearly impossible to eliminate from the production environment, even with careful disinfection procedures.

Currently, there are no treatments for MD, but hatchery vaccination has proven to be an extremely effective preventative measure against the disease.

Innovax®-ND-IBD is the first ever dual-construct HVT vaccine that provides effective, long-term protection against three of the most commercially disruptive flock diseases – Marek’s disease, infectious bursal disease and Newcastle disease – in a single vaccine.