Development of immune response against H9N2 avian influenza after vaccination

Summary

H9N2 avian influenza virus (AIV) is the most prevalent and harmful low pathogenic avian influenza virus (LPAIV) in the world, which not only seriously harms animal husbandry but also poses a huge challenge to public health. Vaccination is the main and most effective strategy to control H9N2 AIV. However, most vaccination programs against H9N2 AIV have shown to be ineffective in poultry in practice. Therefore, my project was 1) to figure out what factors may interfere with the H9N2 vaccine efficacy to sufficiently reduce transmission in poultry, 2) to come up with some ideas to improve the vaccine efficacy, and 3) to explore the mechanisms that influence the vaccine efficacy.