Antiviral Activity of Allokin-Alpha against Herpesvirus in Birds

Abstract

The article reports the efficacy assessment for the Allokin-alpha (Allokin) preparation by modeling the experimental viral infection in vivo in poultry (day-old chickens). The experimental infection included the following steps: vaccination using the vaccine HVT strain, the intramuscular injection of Allokin, and the preparation of feather follicle extracts. The specific antigen was detected in the feather follicle epithelium using the method of gel diffusion precipitation reaction (DPR). A decrease in the number of positive DPR test results for HVT antigen was observed in the case of Allokin-alpha treatment. It has been demonstrated that the optimal time for the Allokin-alpha administration was on the tenth day after the vaccination with HVT as soon as the number of positive DPR results was 33%, while the number of positive results was 50% when the tested preparation was administered 5 and 15 days after the vaccination (samples were collected on day 28 after the vaccination). Since Allokin-alpha has been successfully used to treat human papillomavirus for 15 years, it may also work well as an antiviral agent in the experimental viral infection simulation by the inoculation of vaccine HVT strain; the preparation is not species specific.