Vaccine Research on Chickens Could Lead to Breakthroughs in Humans

Researchers at UC Davis and the USDA have published the results of a survey that show that some viruses can integrate themselves into a chicken’s DNA to avoid the immune system, and then reappear later in the chicken’s life.

A similar pattern of behavior exists in humans who contract chickenpox and then are susceptible to shingles later in life.

Poultry Geneticist Mary Delany was an author on the study and they looked at how a vaccine for Marek’s Disease worked in chickens saying, “we were quite surprised to find that Marek’s vaccines also integrate into the host’s chromosome just as the disease-causing virus does.”

Further research could show a possible way to incorporate vaccines in both chicken and human DNA to fully kill off diseases.

You can find out more in the journal Vaccine.

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