Recombinant Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV) Expressing Sigma C Protein of Avian Reovirus (ARV) Protects against Both ARV and NDV in Chickens

Newcastle disease (ND) and avian reovirus (ARV) infections are a serious threat to the poultry industry, which causes heavy economic losses. The mesogenic NDV strain R2B is commonly used as a booster vaccine in many Asian countries to control the disease. In this seminal work, a recombinant NDV strain R2B expressing the sigma C (sigma C) gene of ARV (rNDV-R2B-sigma C) was generated by reverse genetics, characterized in vitro and tested as a bivalent vaccine candidate in chickens. The recombinant rNDV-R2B-sigma C virus was attenuated as compared to the parent rNDV-R2B virus as revealed by standard pathogenicity assays. The generated vaccine candidate, rNDV-R2B-sigma C, could induce both humoral and cell mediated immune responses in birds and gave complete protection against virulent NDV and ARV challenges. Post-challenge virus shedding analysis revealed a drastic reduction in NDV shed, as compared to unvaccinated birds.