The participants at the workshop were very interested in improving their technical skills and expressed enthusiasm about producing and testing I2 vaccine. Each participant completed an evaluation form. Their responses indicated a high level of satisfaction with the workshop. They found it beneficial and many requested further collaborative training. It is important that their skills and motivation are now harnessed. My conclusions about how best to proceed post workshop have been drawn after the nine days of collaboration and discussion with the participants, with Dr Nyan Soe who manages the Central Vaccine Laboratory and with Professor Spradbrow.
The workshop was held at the Central Veterinary Laboratory, a large well maintained and managed laboratory that currently produces freeze dried Komarov vaccine and wet F strain vaccine. Facilities include incubator capacity of 5000 eggs, freeze drying units, -40°C freezer and a large walk-in -20°C freezer. These facilities will be significantly upgraded with the planned purchase of a German freeze drying unit in three or four months time. Seven staff from this laboratory attended the workshop, during which they prepared the I2 working seed. A further passage of this seed in eggs will produce vaccine. The laboratory with its adequate -20°C storage space can then store and distribute the vaccine for testing as required.
Quality control and efficacy testing of Newcastle disease vaccine is currently carried out at the Veterinary Assay Laboratory. These same tests could easily be applied to the I2 vaccine. During discussions with the Assistant Director of the laboratory, he expressed interest in undertaking laboratory trials. I suggest an appropriate trial would be a comparison between the Newcastle disease vaccines, Komorov, F-strain, imported V4 and I2. Construction of isolated chicken houses to house groups of up to fifteen chickens would be required for such comparative trials.
As demonstrated during the workshop, there is an immediate need for standardization of Haemagglutination Inhibition tests carried out in different laboratories. A standard positive antiserum and a negative serum should be prepared, tested and distributed to all the laboratories undertaking these tests. I recommend that this task be assigned to the Veterinary Assay Laboratory. Prior to my departure from Yangon, I suggested that some of the materials purchased in Australia and left at the Central Vaccine Laboratory, be distributed to this laboratory. This included one of the Gilson multichannel pipettes, a 200 m l to 1000 m l single channel Gilson pipette, tips, reagent troughs and microtitre plates. All will greatly facilitate the preparation of these standards as well as their vaccine quality control and testing work.
Preliminary vaccination trials using Websters HR-V4 vaccine have already been conducted by the Regional Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at Mandalay. They are very keen to implement vaccination trials testing the efficacy of the I; vaccine in village chickens. Funding for a multichannel pipette, two single channel pipettes, reagent troughs, wing tags, needles and syringes and microfuge tubes is required. This laboratory also requires a 500 egg incòbator which would enable virus isolation and regional production of a wet I2 vaccine to be carried out.
At the three regional and one central diagnostic laboratories, Haemagglutination Inhibition tests of serum are routinely carried out for the commercial industry. A fee of three kyats is charged for the testing of each serum sample. During outbreaks of Newcastle disease, many samples are submitted for testing. It often takes weeks to test the stored samples using the current system of using 25 m l glass pipettes to distribute the buffer to each well of the 96 well microtitre plates, followed by the distribution and dilution of the test sample using Tatasky loops. This technology is appropriate and cost effective but slow. A multichannel pipette in each laboratory would greatly increase the output of these assays which are revenue earners.
The Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science at Yezin provides another opportunity for vaccination trials. With the campus currently closed for undergraduate students, academic staff could well have the time and motivation to conduct some trials. Post graduate students are still carrying out their work and may able to participate. Assistant Professor Daw Khin Ma Ma indicated an interest in trials of I2 vaccine applied to various feedstuffs. The Institute does have housing for chickens including separate housing for controls. The Microbiology laboratory has refrigeration and bench space but a lack of basic materials and reagents. Funding for reagents, microtitre plates, reagent troughs, multichannel and single channel pipettes would enable trials of vaccination by application to various feedstuffs to be carried out.
The appointment of a person to act as a coordinator of the Newcastle disease vaccination programme of trials and testing I2 for use in village chickens is suggested. This person could liaise between the extension and laboratory workers as well as ensuring there is an avenue for communication between laboratories about their requirements, proposed trials for testing the vaccine, results and problems encountered. The proposal of a six monthly newsletter received a favourable response and is recommended as a simple means of communication between the various laboratories and interested groups within Myanmar. It is important to maintain enthusiasm for the enormous task of making a thermostable vaccine available for use in village chickens. An appointed coordinator would also benefit from membership of the International Network for Family Poultry Development based in Africa. This growing worldwide network focuses exclusively on the village chicken and links people with this common interest. Their newsletter would be of interest to those in Myanmar who are interested in improving village chicken production. The Network is managed by Professor B. Sonaiya, Department of Animal Science, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.
An application by the Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department for a further FAO Technical Cooperation Project could provide the much needed funds to continue this work with thermostable Newcastle disease vaccine. A new project could include plans to upgrade laboratory facilities especially in the Regional Diagnostic Veterinary Laboratories and the Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science at Yezin. Another benefit would be further training of extension workers and follow up visits by consultants. An emphasis needs to be placed on introducing initiatives that will make the production and distribution of this vaccine sustainable.
I have encouraged the participants of the laboratory workshop to consider Professor Spradbrow and myself as colleagues who are in a position to offer continued support. Professor Spradbrow appreciates queries about Newcastle disease vaccine. He regularly answers questions sent by mail and helps veterinarians get their results of vaccination trials published in international journals. We have access to University of Queensland Biological Sciences Library and their journal collection. I have offered to post copies of references to the participants if requested. I am also in a position to order, on behalf of funding agencies, materials from the stores within the university if this is seen as a effective way of delivering items such as hand held pipettes to Myanmar.
