A P P E A L from an humble student of Avian Sciences for consideration by the Entrepreneurs, Specialists & Experts
1 No lesson seems to have been learnt from the unrelenting persistence of infectious diseases despite all efforts to contain their spread; Maxim, probably is, more the Medicines & more Vaccines, more the Disease !
2 In the larger National interest & in the interest of Poultry Farmer let us please think, meditate, discuss, apply ourselves to the challenge and strive to avoid repetition of panic-stricken, waste-oriented temporary emergency measures, like indiscriminate use of Drugs or Vaccines.
3 The basket of Vaccines is pretty fragile, Let us not put all our eggs in it. Vaccine is not a Medicine, it is not a panacea nor anAmritdhara. It has no magical properties. It is not the “end-all & be-all†of disease eradication. Probability of adverse fall-out, if any, after use of live-virus vaccines can also not be shoved under the carpet.
4 Vaccine cannot prevent the body from getting infected, it may prevent the disease, provided body is not deficient and responds adequately.
5 Vaccine is merely ONE of the MANY inter-dependant & inter-linked “Managemental†procedures, indispensible for the maintenance of physical+physiological Health, at individual as well as flock levels.
6 It is the body that reacts with foreign antigen (Vaccine or Pathogen); such reaction can be positive (immunity) or negative (no immunity)
7 For the reaction to be positive, the body has to be healthy, and immuno-competent to identify the “foreign agent†and store it in memmory for as long as possible.
8 Each body in a flock comprising (thousands or hundred of thousands) individuals does not react identically; Chick are not “cloned,†some react properly, some poorly, while a few may not react at all.
9 The weak, sick, anorexic, anoxic, dehydrated (with water in body at less than optimum threshold), under the influence of physical/physiological Stress, eating feed laced with mycotoxins, drinking non-potable water, living in hostile ambience, forced to take highly potent drugs, etc, may not benefit from vaccine and prove a handicap for others by remaining vulnerable to disease..
10 Immunity (due to positive response to an antigen) is a highly specialised, highly selective phenomenon of last line of defense, and in order to be effective, it needs to be supported by preliminary lines of defense.
11 All lines of defense are effective in a body that is at optimum level of physical+phisiological health which, to a very great extent, can be strenghthened through providing correct prophylactic support.
12 Unnecessary/injudicious/indiscriminate use of a vaccines can induce covert alteration in the epizootiological ecology of infectious agents; It may lead to modification in pathognomy manifest through “a-typical†syndromes, which may defy spot diagnosis.
13 In order to assist the Farmer to achieve positive results and to avoid misuse or abuse, an effective well-oriented system of monitoring the import and local manufacture of Vaccines, their storage and application in field, will need to be brought undersurveillance of persons professionally qualified to do so.
14 Vaccine, Vaccination, Immunisation and Immunity are not one and the
same thing; Each has its own identity and imperatives, each asks for
due respect and recognition or else, we will have what we have.
15 Killed, inactivated, live–attenuated, modified and, virulent field antigen, all evoke a certain type of specific reaction that elicitsspecific response in the body. End–result usually depends on which-ever (virulent field antigen or attenuated lab antigen) gets first opportunity to enter the body and occupy its norms.
CONSTRAINTS
* elimination, extermination of the host through depopulation is out of
question in the context of our socio-economic limitations
* Stop-gap , half-hearted measures are waste-oriented and in-effective.
* Out-come of short-term steps taken under panic, like emergency use of
locally-brewed vaccines, may prove counter-productive, unless very
closely monitored (from production up to its use) and discontinued at
a cut-off point.
WHAT TO DO ?
A adopt the universally acclaimed /tried /tested standard measures of
bio-Security (biological management) and enjoy long-lasting gains.
B go for farming to “convert Feed into Food†(Eggs & Meat), instead
of keeping poultry merely for fun.
C give due priority to:-
_ Confirmative diagnosis of disease and competent advise;
_ Differentiation of causal agents (bacteria, viruses, protozoa, etc)
associated with identical signs, symptoms, pathology, prognosis,
_ Confirmation of their existence/prevalence in our environments,
_ Identification of their sources, reservoirs, carriers, mode of
dissemination, etc,
D devise a comprehensive strategy to:-
_ physically & biologically contain the spread of infection
_ break the continuity of “residual infection carry-over†from one
flock /farm to another
_ create /enforce effective barriers in the way of horizontal and
vertical transmission of infection,
_ help the body to respond positively to vaccine
_ minimise availability of susceptible hosts (un-ending repetitious
cycles of raising broiler flocks would demand extra-special
strategy to check “adding fuel to the Fire†i.e., putting fresh
chicks in a house while the infection continues to “simmer†in
the environment. FIRE is present, it’s HEAT may not be felt
unless it explodes into an outbreak.
_ harmonise the vaccination programme with the cyclic “coming-
in & going-out†of one flock after another; presence of multi-
age flocks on same premises & under same management shall
offer a difficult challenge to devise prophylactic schedule.
_ respect the basic /fundamental “ DO`s & DON T`s †of the
vocation,in order to convert raw material inedible by man into
un-adulterable delicious Food edible for humans.
_We can deceive ourselves but we cannot cheat a chicken through
“bye-passing†the Managemental prerequisites or by substituting
short-cuts, instead of the laid down chain of proccedures,
howsoever difficult or demanding.
_ the prescribed chores may, at time, appear illogical/unpracticable,
yet, despite all the unbelievable technological achievements,
unfortunately neither any alternative to basics of management has
so far been discovered nor any short cuts in Farming techniques
have as yet been identified.
THERE IS NO ESCAPE FOR THE FARMER BUT TO:-
* cull the stragglers who will not be able to “keep-in-step†with the rest of
flock; The selected ones thus allowed to perform , will not only, more
than compensate for the loss of the culled ones, but will also
respond positively to managemental and prophylactic strategies.
* never establish “sick-pen†(Bank of infections) in the house; Culls will
never deliver, never achieve the target of production, rather will serve
as open invitation for the external factors, inimical to health, to enter
the house, proliferate, kill and raise cost of production.
* anoxia at the start, i.e., in brooding house, can precipitate a long term
deterioration in productivity, though visibly the bird may appear healthy
* maintenance of flock “health†should be the basic criterion of farming,
instead of “disease†involving waste of energy & resources on treatment of individual bird. A sick bird may seem to recover, but is there any guarantee that its productive mechanism will also perform Damaged reproductive physiology can remain unproductive.
* place emphasis where it is due, for example, on meeting the specific
requirements of space, ambience, nutrition, etc, and monitor the rate of
growth, body weight, FCR, etc, peculiar to the type of each strain of the
modern hybrid bird.
WITH BEST WISHES.May the Stars carry shine upon you. May the flowers fill yourheart with beauty. May hope forever wipe away your tears. And above allLove – Care – N – Smiles
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