As scientists learn more about a deadly parasite's ability to move from host to host in turkey flocks, a long-standing theory is in question and opens the door to new preventative measures. Histomonas meleagridis , the parasite behind histomonosis -; also known as blackhead disease -; can decimate flocks of turkeys. There are currently no U.
S. Food and Drug Administration-approved vaccines or therapeutics to treat the birds. Mortality in turkey flocks can reach up to 80 percent.
Chickens are a little less susceptible to the disease, but they can still become infected. You just don't see the extensive mortality that we do in turkeys." Danielle Graham, assistant professor of poultry science, University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Graham, who conducts research through the Division of Agriculture's Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, and Zhicheng Dou, associate professor in the biological sciences department at Clemson University, were recently awarded $3.
2 million over five years from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to support their work in developing insights about disease transmission and potentially finding an existing FDA-approved drug to fight histomonosis.
The FDA's funding comes in the form of a cooperative partnership through the establishment of an Animal and Veterinary Innovation Center. According to the FDA, these centers aim to address urgent animal, human or environmental health needs. The center in Arkansas is one of four that FDA announc.