Avian Host Defence

Globally, the number of poultry is increasing tremendously and health and welfare of the birds must be safeguarded. In addition, birds are a source of zoonotic infections that can be a threat to public health. The avian immune system is different from that of mammals and the extensive knowledge about mammalian host defence cannot be translated directly to birds. We hope that by increasing our knowledge of innate host defence molecules of birds we may better understand susceptibility to infections and spreading of disease.

Staining of Host Defence Peptide (AvBD9) producing cells in the chicken intestine.

Principal investigator