Optimization of Care and Use for Experimental Chickens
Chiang Chun-yi
Abstract
Experimental chickens have made significant contributions in the history of science. Apart from their well-known role in vaccine development, they have provided valuable insights in neurology, limb development, and disease modeling. Among bird species, chickens are the most commonly used in scientific research. The care of experimental chickens encompasses various aspects, including the preservation and incubation conditions of fertilized eggs, as well as adjustment of the rearing environment and feeding management for chickens.
Proper care and maintenance can reduce stress in experimental chickens, enhance animal welfare, and improve the reliability of experiments. Additionally, through proficient techniques such as proper marking, restraining, blood sampling, and euthanasia, the accuracy and repeatability of experimental results can be ensured. The optimization of care and operational techniques for experimental chickens not only meets the requirements of scientific research but also emphasizes ethical responsibility towards the experimental animals, thereby enhancing the credibility of research and ethical standards throughout the experimental process.
The detection of atypical porcine pestivirus in weaned pigs
Kuo-Jung Tsai
Abstract
Atypical porcine pestivirus (APPV) was identified during a routine surveillance program, which was conducted by Kansas State University via next generation sequencing, in the United States in the year of 2015. APPV was genetically different from known pestiviruses including classical swine fever virus, bovine viral diarrhea virus, border disease virus, etc. APPV has been proved to be related to congenital tremor, based on an inoculation experiment conducted at Iowa State University, which successfully induced pregnant sows to deliver piglets with congenital tremors. The existence of APPV was approved in the majority of pig industries in North America, European and Asian countries with the evidence of viral RNA or antibodies, based on surveillance studies. In this study, a collection of serum samples of weaned pigs in Taiwan was screened for the presence of APPV genomes by real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) and confirmed by sequence determination. The detected viral sequences were used to conduct phylogenetic analysis along with those of other countries.
Report on official visit abroad:
Visiting Japan for technology advancements on animal vaccine production and development as well as promotion on WOAH rabies international affairs
Ai-Ping Hsu
Abstract
This visit was taken by researcher and director Dr. Yen-Ping Chen, researcher Dr. Chun-Hsien Tseng, and associate researcher Dr. Ai-Ping Hsu from Biologicals Division of Veterinary Research Institute from 28th/Nov. to 7th/Dec., 2023. This trip to Japan included visits to the Faculty of Applied Biological Sciences of Gifu University and the National Institute of Infectious Diseases for exchanges or collaboration discussions on animal vaccine research and development (particularly on genetic technology, commercialization, etc.). Moreover, in order to advance international affairs of WOAH relevance in the context of if VRI is granted WOAH reference laboratory for rabies in the future, we also had exchanges on international activities with the National Institute of Animal Health and the National Veterinary Assay Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, WOAH Cooperation Center. In addition, for promoting future proficiency testing service for rabies diagnosis in Asia, we also discussed the improvement of the proficiency testing program during our visit to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases in Japan.