UNDERSTANDING IMMUNITY

Immunity can be described as the ability of the body to recognize the presence of material normally within the body (self), and to eliminate foreign (non-self) materials. When a disease organism invades, the bird’s body usually produces antibodies and specific cells whose purpose is to engulf or eat and destroy foreign substances like bacteria and virus.

VACCINE-INDUCED IMMUNITY

• Vaccines trigger the bird’s body to think that it is being invaded by a specific organism.
• The immune system goes to work to destroy the invader and prevent it from infecting the bird again.
• If the bird is exposed to a disease for which it had been vaccinated, the invading pathogens are met by antibodies that will destroy them.
• The immunity that the birds developed following vaccination is similar to the immunity acquired from natural infection.

IMPORTANCE OF PROPER NUTRITION

Antibodies are made up of protein, a building block of essential amino acids that needs to be provided in the diet. Even if you are using high quality vaccines, if the birds are not fed right, the efficiency of the immune system is hindered for it will not be able to produce the antibodies with out the necessary components.