Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 December 2016
Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) is one of the mosteconomically damaging diseases affecting the poultry industry. This group ofextra-intestinal E. coli causes a variety of clinicalconditions including air-sacculitis and cellulitis. The economic impact of APECis mainly due to mortality, slower growth rates and carcass downgrading. Incommercial broiler operations, APEC infections are controlled indirectly byvaccination against other respiratory diseases and minimising stress conditions,and directly by administration of antimicrobial agents to suppress symptoms ininfected flocks. Several studies have demonstrated that the most commonvirulence factors studied in APEC are rarely present in the same isolate,showing that APEC strains constitute a heterogeneous group. Different isolatesmay harbour different associations of virulence factors, each able to inducecolibacillosis. Despite its economical relevance, the pathogenesis ofcolibacillosis is poorly understood. The O antigen, a component of the surfacelipopolysaccharide, has been identified as a promising vaccine target. With theavailability of a novel bioconjugation technology it is expected thatmultivalent O antigen conjugate vaccines can be produced on an industrial scale.Despite the potential for developing an efficacious vaccine to combat thiseconomically important poultry disease, several obstacles hinder such efforts.These include cost, vaccine delivery method and timing of vaccination. Thepresent discusses current knowledge on APEC virulence, host response toinfection and various attempts to develop an effective vaccine