Purdue leads $2 million US study on antiviral fogging to combat avian influenza in poultry

Research led by Purdue University aims to test hydrogenated catmint oil mist as a novel method to reduce avian influenza spread in poultry houses, potentially offering an alternative to depopulation in outbreak control.

Purdue University researchers are leading a $2 million US Department of Agriculture study to test whether antiviral fogging could help poultry houses suppress highly pathogenic avian influenza before it tears through a flock. The project, headed by Dr Ekramy Sayedahmed, assistant professor of poultry medicine at Purdue’s College of Veterinary Medicine, will examine a system that disperses hydrogenated catmint oil as a fine mist in poultry housing.

The idea is to reduce viral particles in the air and on surfaces, while also assessing whether the compound offers protection in birds’ upper respiratory tracts. According to Purdue, early proof-of-concept work suggests low concentrations of the oil can disrupt the virus’s outer lipid membrane, limiting its ability to infect cells and replicate.

The research will bring together Purdue, Ohio State University, Entomol Products and 1,4GROUP. Entomol will help optimise fogging conditions, while 1,4GROUP will develop the large-scale emitter hardware. Ohio State will support testing in high-containment laboratories.

Because live HPAI cannot be studied in a commercial house, the team will first use Newcastle disease virus as a surrogate in field-style trials. They will then test scaled-down systems against HPAI in Biosafety Level 3 facilities.

For veterinary practitioners, the appeal is clear: if the approach proves safe and effective, it could add a practical environmental control to existing biosecurity and vaccination programmes, potentially reducing reliance on depopulation when outbreaks occur.

Image Source: Purdue University