In ovo vaccination technology for poultry is a new concept of immunizing chicken embryos before they hatch. The vaccine is injected into eggs three days prior to hatch. This technology is very attractive because of several advantages and is poultry industry's vaccination method of choice for the future.
A semi-automated machine injects a single, precise dose of vaccine into the embryo or amniotic fluid in each egg at the rate of 35,000 to 60,000 eggs per hour.
ViroGen believes its New ovomune vaccine will be more effective in fighting against the Newcastle disease than the traditional B1 spray vaccine applied on days 1 (hatch day) and 14. Chickens vaccinated with the B1 aerosol spray may receive either an inadequate vaccine dose, which risks breaking down the immunity of the flock, or may be overdosed and suffer from vaccine reaction, which adversely affects their food conversion performance and body weight gain. In contrast, the in ovo vaccination method delivers a uniform dose to each egg, which protects the birds during the early neonatal stage. This method is less stressful to the birds and doesn't cause secondary reactions to the extent of the traditional Newcastle disease spray vaccines.