Duck plague vaccine invented

MYMENSINGH, Nov 8 (BSS): In a major scientific breakthrough, researchers at Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) have developed the country's first-ever duck plague vaccine, paving the way for better protection of Bangladesh's duck population from deadly viral diseases.

Duck farmers across the country may soon find relief from devastating losses caused by duck plague, as a team of researchers from BAU has successfully developed two new vaccines - an inactivated and a live attenuated duck plague vaccine.

The research, conducted under the project "Development of Low Cost Inactivated and Live Attenuated Duck Plague Vaccine Using Local Duck Plague Virus" of the Livestock and Dairy Development Project, aims to provide an effective and affordable solution to one of the most fatal diseases affecting the country's duck population.

The research team was led by Professor Dr. Md. Bahanur Rahman, Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at BAU. Team members included PhD fellow Dr. Laila Yasmin and Professor Dr. Md. Ferdous Ur Rahman Khan of the Department of Microbiology and Hygiene, who served as Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI).

Professor Rahman confirmed that both vaccines have already undergone successful testing. "This is great news for the duck farmers of Bangladesh," he said.