Analysis of antibody response to an epitope in the haemagglutinin subunit 2 of avian influenza virus H5N1 for differentiation of infected and vaccinated chickens

Abstract

© 2019, © 2019 Houghton Trust Ltd. The H5N1 subtype of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus has been circulating in poultry in Indonesia since 2003 and vaccination has been used as a strategy to eradicate the disease. However, monitoring of vaccinated poultry flocks for H5N1 infection by serological means has been difficult, as vaccine antibodies are not readily distinguishable from those induced by field viruses. Therefore, a test that differentiates infected and vaccinated animals (DIVA) would be essential. Currently, no simple and specific DIVA test is available for screening of a large number of vaccinated chickens. Several epitopes on E29 domain of the haemagglutinin H5N1 subunit 2 (..