“If you had to say the No. 1 critical asset to Carvel when it comes to the poultry industry, it is our poultry diagnostic lab, Lasher Laboratory, hands down,” Isaacs said.
In Newark, scientists at the Charles C. Allen Jr. Biotechnology Laboratory study lethal poultry pathogens.
Both Allen and Lasher labs operate as a single unit with a dedicated lab staff that has worked tirelessly, even throughout lockdowns during the coronavirus pandemic. They even worked hand in hand with laboratories in Maryland to respond to the 2022-2023 HPAI outbreak, said Brian Ladman, a senior scientist in the Department of Animal and Food Sciences who manages Allen Lab and helps lead the UDPHS.
“Our labs handled about 3,000 samples collected as part of the surveillance and response efforts,” Ladman said. “The tests supported the continuity of business, proving birds and eggs were free of disease before domestic movement and international export.”
Bird flu has been relatively quiet in recent months, Ladman said. Always ready, UD is there to help with rapid diagnostic testing for commercial poultry producers and backyard flock owners around the Delmarva region whenever that testing is needed.
“When avian influenza strikes, all other work is pushed aside,” Ladman said.
UD doesn’t do research and testing for just avian influenza. Researchers have studied a whole host of poultry disease agents, from Marek’s disease virus and infectious bursal disease virus, which weaken birds’ immune systems, to a respiratory viral disease agent called infectious laryngotracheitis virus (commonly referred to as “ILT”).
Former animal and food sciences department chairs Jack Rosenberger and Jack Gelb each worked on ways to control various poultry diseases. In the 1980s, Gelb and Calvin Keeler, now the interim dean for the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, developed the first PCR test for avian coronaviruses.
“It’s adaptations of that technology that people have used now for all their coronavirus testing,” Keeler said.
Keeler, who is also the director of the Avian Biosciences Center, said UD takes pride in hosting the major poultry diagnostic lab for the region, while many other states run their own diagnostic labs. Every chicken flock in the region needs to be tested for viruses and diseases before heading to a processing plant — and they’re tested at UD’s Lasher Lab.
“That’s a vital piece as far as maintaining poultry health and control and managing these sorts of situations,” Keeler said. “There’s a good relationship between the industry, the government and the University so that when we’ve had an occasional incident like HPAI in 2015 or 2022, they’re rapidly identified. This partnership is activated and establishes the controls and the testing to really limit the spread.”
‘UD is a crucial partner’
Agriculture is Delaware’s No. 1 industry. Delaware Secretary of Agriculture Michael T. Scuse pointed out poultry as the largest industry in that sector.
“I don’t think our industry would be what it is today here on Delmarva without the University of Delaware,” Scuse said. “The work and research that’s been done by the University on disease, genetics and the feed ration the poultry are fed work to make the poultry houses more efficient and to be able to produce better birds in a shorter period of time.”
Claudia Osorio, the poultry health and welfare committee chair for the Delmarva Chicken Association, said UD helps the Delmarva poultry industry, animal health officials and others in protecting poultry health by providing rapid and accurate reliable diagnosis of animal diseases. Furthermore, when it comes to poultry diseases such as avian influenza, UD is a critical and invaluable resource.
“UD is a crucial partner in preventing, controlling and combating animal diseases,” Osorio said. “UD helps protect the industry that employs an estimated 30,000 workers in the region who are necessary for the financial wellbeing of Delmarva. Without the service UD provides, the Delmarva poultry industry could be affected detrimentally and perhaps never recover.”
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