Professor Jon‑hwa Lee (Department of Veterinary Medicine) and his team have successfully developed a vaccine to prevent “fowl typhoid,” a disease that spreads rapidly among chickens and other poultry and causes major economic losses to the poultry industry.

Fowl typhoid is an infectious disease that causes septicemia in chickens. In the early 1900s it devastated the global poultry industry with a high mortality rate. Because the causative bacterium (Salmonella Gallinarum) cannot be completely treated with antibiotics, vaccination is currently the only available option.

With support from the Korea Institute of Planning and Evaluation for Technology in Food, Agriculture and Forestry (hereinafter IPET), this three‑year study produced a vaccine by using genetic engineering to delete virulence‑related genes from the fowl typhoid pathogen. Through this research project the team filed four international and domestic patent applications and published a total of nine SCI‑level papers, including two papers ranked in the top 1% of international journals. The project was selected in 2012 as an excellent research project by IPET.

When the developed vaccine was administered to chickens, they showed no signs of fowl typhoid. The team reported that the vaccine demonstrates superior safety and preventive efficacy compared with currently commercialized vaccines.

In particular, the vaccine was found to induce sufficient immunity not only by injection but also when mixed into drinking water or feed. If clinical trial approval is obtained and commercialization proceeds, it is expected to greatly benefit poultry farms.

Professor Lee stated, “Fowl typhoid spreads rapidly not only among chicks but also healthy chickens and is accompanied by fatal mortality. Because the causative bacterium cannot be completely treated with antibiotics, we must rely on vaccines. Once clinical trial approval is obtained, immediate commercialization will be possible, and we expect this to contribute to increased income for poultry farmers.”

Meanwhile, the research results have been transferred following the signing of a technology transfer agreement with Jungang Vaccine Research Institute Co., Ltd.