The vaccines protect poultry against a wide range of infectious bronchitis variant viruses, one of the major poultry pathogens in Europe. If adopted, the new labeling for combination use of the vaccines will provide producers in Europe with a unique convenient and efficient option for extending protection against the virus.

Dr Rik Koopman, MSD Animal Health Technical Director, said: “Infectious bronchitis virus can lead to respiratory disease, kidney problems and drops in egg production, causing significant economic losses for poultry producers.

“We are committed to providing a comprehensive range of solutions for poultry producers, and are pleased to offer the mixed use of NOBILIS IB 4-91 and NOBILIS IB Ma5 for poultry one day-old onwards to enhance protection of their flocks.”

Mixed use of the vaccines will provide an extension of MSD Animal Health’s PROTECTOTYPE™ poultry vaccination programme, a proven approach for managing the occurrence of multiple sero-types of infectious bronchitis virus in broiler, breeder and layer flocks. The programme maximises protection against infectious bronchitis through the combination of individual vaccines. The resulting cross protection also helps ensure healthier flocks with better performance, increased uniformity and improved gain and feed performance.

Details of the product will be described in the summary of product characteristics (SPC) which will be published in the European public assessment report (EPAR) and will be available after the marketing authorisation has been granted by the European Commission.

MSD Animal Health is known as Merck Animal Health in the United States and Canada.

Further Reading

Find out more information on infectious bronchitis by clicking here.