HATCHERY ▶▶▶
Eggs essential in human health protection
BY FABIAN BROCKÖTTER W
ith the Corona virus dominating the world’s headlines and severely impacting society as a whole, you could almost forget there is anoth- er killer virus out there. The common flu is far
more devastating but causes less panic because humanity is used to dealing with it. And there is a vaccine to protect the most vulnerable in society. A vaccine in which eggs play a crucial role. The basis for vaccine manufacturing is a fertilised egg that has been incubated for 10-11 days. It is then trans- ferred to the vaccine manufacturer which inoculates the egg with the flu virus. In the three days that follow, the egg is put back in the hatcher, during which time the virus grows on the epithelial layer. After one day cooling, the virus can be har- vested and one dose of vaccine can be made. This whole pro- cess takes place in ‘clean rooms’, facilities with extreme biose- curity measures to guarantee optimum and safe vaccine production. You might expect that high standards would also be required for vaccine egg production, the speciality of com- panies like Pluma and Globoaves. They both deliver their eggs to the Butantan Institute. The only institute that has the technology to produce flu vaccines in Latin America. “Recent- ly it was announced in the media that it will be making big investments to double its current production to grow from 60 million doses to 120 million. It also announced partnerships with the company Sanofi, WHO (the World Health Organiza- tion) and possible export to the Chinese market,” says Mario Tremarin, manager at Globoaves/Globobiotech.
High standards Kleber Cadamure, Puma’s hatchery supervisor in Casa Branca, knows all about the high standards set by the Butantan Insti- tute. “Everything in our production process has been fine- tuned to achieve the highest egg quality possible. Our whole vaccine egg production is separated from the rest of the busi- ness, with dedicated farms, a feed mill and a hatchery. We have one rearing farm and five production farms where com- mercial layers are held together with the male brother layers.
▶ POULTRY WORLD | No. 3, 2020 15
It’s no secret that eggs are healthy to eat, but that eggs play an essential role in human health protection is far less well known. Poultry World had the opportunity to visit Pluma and Globoaves, the go-to companies for sourcing vaccine eggs in Brazil.
We aim for an ideal egg weight of 50 grammes, work with strict biosecurity protocols, heat treat feed, UV treat water and keep the birds separated from the manure with slatted floors. The eggs are also disinfected multiple times during handling and transportation,” he continues. “And it doesn’t stop there, the same strict protocols apply in the hatchery. On top of which it is essential for us to ensure that the eggs are optimally handled to prevent cracks and losses. As you can imagine, vaccine eggs are a high value product involving a lot of effort to ensure safety and quality.” “We work in close partnership with the Butantan Institute and its quality control department to study existing bird lines to obtain better producton yields,” Mario Tremarin adds. “It is scientific work that requires rigor and excellence to select the best genetics.” Globoaves invests its best resources to supply controlled fertile eggs for the production of vaccines. The eggs are produced on their own farms built in places
The basis for vaccine manu- facturing is a fertilised egg that has been in- cubated for 10- 11 days and handled in ac- cordance with strict quality control and hygiene standards.
PHOTO: FABIAN BROCKOTTER
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36
