A COMPARISON OF THE V₄ STRAIN WITH THE CONVENTIONAL F₁ AND M STRAIN OF NEWCASTLE DISEASE VACCINE IN RURAL BANGLADESH

Bangladeshi indigenous chickens of mixed ages vaccinated twice at a three week interval with either conventional vaccines-$F_1$ (ocular) and M (mukteswar, Intramuscular), or heat resistant $V_4$ vaccine administered by either the ocular or oral routes, all showed satisfactory hemagglutination inhibition antibody (HI) responses and protection against Newcastle Disease (NCD) challenge persisting for four months. The antibody response to $F_1$ and M was higher than for $V_4$, which was similar whether administered by the ocular or oral routes. All vaccinated treatments have a significant level of protection compare to the control group (p<0.01). No significant difference (p>0.05) in the protection against controlled challenge with virulent NCD virus was found between vaccinated groups.