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Researchers at Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) have developed a low-cost vaccine against duck plague using a locally isolated strain of the virus, marking a significant breakthrough that could help protect millions of ducks and reduce economic losses in Bangladesh’s growing duck farming industry.
The vaccine, developed by a team of scientists at BAU’s Faculty of Veterinary Science, is expected to provide an affordable and effective alternative to existing preventive measures against one of the most devastating viral diseases affecting ducks.
The lead researcher, Prof Dr Md Bahanur Rahman, Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Science and a Syndicate member of BAU, confirmed the achievement on Monday.
He said duck plague is a highly contagious viral disease that can spread rapidly through flocks, causing mortality rates of between 40 percent and 100 percent, making it one of the biggest threats to commercial and backyard duck farming.
“Our goal was to develop an effective, locally adapted and affordable vaccine that can better protect the country’s duck population,” he said.
Prof Bahanur explained that the research initially focused on producing a live attenuated vaccine. However, following a request from the Department of Livestock Services (DLS), the research team expanded its work to include inactivated, DNA and oral vaccine candidates.
While the inactivated vaccine did not produce the desired immune response, both the DNA-based and oral vaccine candidates have shown encouraging results during laboratory evaluations.
The newly developed vaccine is now awaiting field trials, a crucial step before it can receive regulatory approval for commercial use.
According to the researchers, if the remaining evaluation and approval processes proceed as planned, the vaccine could become available to farmers within the next one to one-and-a-half years.
Prof Bahanur expressed optimism that the vaccine would provide more than 90 percent protection against duck plague, significantly reducing disease outbreaks and helping strengthen Bangladesh’s duck farming sector.
He said collaboration with the Department of Livestock Services would be essential to ensure the vaccine reaches farmers across the country once approved.
Prof Dr Md Samsul Alam, Coordinator of the Committee for Advanced Studies and Research (CASR) at BAU, said vaccination remains the most effective strategy because treatment options are extremely limited once ducks become infected.
“Once ducks are infected, treatment is often ineffective. Prevention through vaccination is therefore the best approach,” he said.
He described the development as another milestone in BAU’s long-standing contribution to veterinary vaccine research, particularly by the university’s Department of Microbiology and Hygiene, which has produced several important vaccines over the years.
Samsul also noted that the vaccine could be further refined in the future to keep pace with changes in the virus through continued research and surveillance.
Duck farming plays a vital role in Bangladesh’s rural economy, particularly in wetland and coastal regions where thousands of smallholders depend on ducks for meat, eggs and household income. Experts believe an effective, locally developed vaccine could substantially reduce production losses, improve farmers’ incomes and strengthen the country’s poultry sector by providing reliable protection against one of its most destructive viral diseases.