Research progress of the avian coccidiosis vaccine

Coccidiosis is an intestinal disease of poultry that endangers animal health and causes economic loss to poultry production. For decades, the control of the coccidiosis relies mainly on anticoccidial drugs and live vaccines. However, problems such as widespread of drug resistance, public health pressure after mass administration of anticoccidial drugs, and the risk of expansion of coccidia after administration of live avian coccidiosis vaccine make new anticoccidial alternatives urgent for health development of avian industry. A number of new vaccines have emerged recently, including recombinant vaccines, DNA vaccines and genetically engineered live vaccines. Additionally, various adjuvants, such as DNA adjuvants, recombinant adjuvants, plant-derived adjuvants, probiotics and prebiotics have been evaluated in animal trials. In this article, an overview of the host immune response to avian coccidia is presented, and current vaccine and adjuvant control strategies are outlined as well. It is hoped that this review will contribute to a deeper understanding of avian coccidiosis prevention and control strategies and lay a theoretical foundation in the field.