The poultry sector is a major component of agriculture that contributes to the national economy and is crucial for food security, poverty reduction, and economic development.
However, the poultry sector has been affected by poultry diseases, with highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) having a serious economic impact on the sector. Avian influenza is a highly contagious poultry disease caused by orthomyxovirus, which causes high mortality in poultry, leading to economic losses. HPAI results in the loss of billions of dollars in the poultry industry.
In addition, from January, 2003 to February, 2024, 878 humans in 23 countries died owing to HPAI.
Thus, HPAI is not only a poultry disease but also a public health concern.
To reduce the damage caused by HPAI in low-income and middle-income countries such as Nepal, conventional preventive and control measures, including biosecurity measures, halting operations, culling, movement control, and quarantine, have been adopted. However, the disease has not been effectively controlled; instead, the incidence of HPAI has increased in recent years.
Moreover, the use of conventional methods of control, halting operations, and culling have resulted in heavy economic burdens on poultry farmers, long-lasting impact on the livelihood of farmers, and welfare and environmental concerns, which have led to the search for alternative methods such as vaccination to control HPAI and improve the economic sustainability of the poultry sector.