Efficacy of vaccination with La Sota strain vaccine to control Newcastle disease in village chickens in Nepal.

The efficacy of vaccination with Newcastle disease (ND) La Sota and R2B (Mukteswar) modified live strain vaccines was determined by experimental challenge and with ND La Sota vaccine under field conditions in Nepal. Booster vaccination with ND La Sota vaccine after a primary vaccination with ND La Sota vaccine, induced a geometric mean titre (GMT) of 5.0 log2 haemagglutination inhibition (HI) units, compared to a GMT of 6.0 log2 HI units following booster vaccination with R2B vaccine 1 month after primary vaccination with ND La Sota vaccine. Both vaccines provided 100% protection against challenge with a local field ND strain. Furthermore, booster vaccination with ND La Sota vaccine induced protective levels of antibody after field use in villages in Jhapa, and no outbreaks of ND occurred during the study period. The ND La Sota modified live vaccine is immunogenic and efficacious and is a suitable vaccine for use in vaccination programmes in village chickens in the rural areas of Nepal.