As government officials investigate a case of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Wisconsin, a UW-Madison professor is creating a vaccine to protect birds from the virus.
Adel Talaat, a professor of microbiology in the UW School of Veterinary Medicine, is using genetic sequencing data from a number of different avian influenza strains to develop the vaccine. It’s not available yet for commercial purposes but Talaat hopes to contribute to future outbreak prevention efforts, according to a release from the university.
“When dealing with animals, especially poultry, it’s important to keep in mind that we would need to be able to vaccinate an entire flock,” he said. “We also need to think about how to make this technology inexpensive so it will be economically viable.”
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