This Project Grant award of $649,815.00 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program will support research to study the transmission and disease mechanisms of novel highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 viruses in poultry.
The researchers at the University of Minnesota will comparatively analyze three HPAI H5N1 viruses from the 2.3.4.4b clade to understand their infection, transmission, and disease impacts in chickens and turkeys. The project also aims to develop a novel miRNA-based live vaccine to help control the ongoing HPAI outbreaks in the poultry industry. The findings from this 3-year project, which starts on March 15, 2025, are expected to provide more effective measures and policy recommendations for controlling the spread and outbreaks of the 2.3.4.4b clade HPAI viruses in poultry.
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