Infectious Bursal Disease Virus

Abstract

Infectious bursal disease is an acute, highly contagious, immunosuppressive disease that affects young birds causing important economic losses in thepoultry industry. Its etiological agent is theInfectious bursal disease virus(IBDV),a non-enveloped bi-segmented double stranded RNA virus which belongs to theGenusAvibirnavirusfrom the Family Birnaviridae. Currently, control of IBDV isnormally achieved by vaccination programs with inactivated and live attenuatedviruses. However, conventional vaccines have a number of disadvantages due totheir viral nature and, in many cases, fail to provide sufficient protection againstvery virulent and variant strains of IBDV. Several new vaccines have beendeveloped as alternatives to solve these problems. Among these rationally designedvaccines live viral-vectored, immune complex and subunit vaccines are found. Inthis chapter, the contribution of these new technologies to the field will beaddressed, with special focus on plant-made vaccines candidates against IBDV. Therationale, efficacy, and yield of these plant-based developments, as well as thecomparison to established vaccines or alternatives will be discussed.