MANHATTAN (KSNT) – Kansas State University researchers have discovered a unique vaccine strategy to help fight avian flu amongst poultry.
K-State entomologists are developing a vaccine to combat highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) amongst poultry, per new research released on Tuesday on the K-State Research and Extension office website. The vaccine to combat the virus and to limit its spread amongst poultry — mealworms.
Researchers are trying to use the insects as an oral-based vaccine for the virus as mealworms are already common in poultry diets.
“Mealworms, a natural component of poultry diets, offer significant nutritional benefits while serving as efficient biological factories for vaccine antigens,” said K-State Associate Professor and Principal Researcher of the project Laura Miller.
Using insects can be a fast approach to “updating” the vaccine, as gene-editing allows entomologists to quickly change how it attacks the virus as strains of HPAI can evolve passing through different birds’ migration routes across the state, according to the university.
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According to K-State researchers, Kansas saw more than 413,000 birds impacted by HPAI since late 2025. This comes after the Kansas Department of Agriculture warned poultry owners of increased risks of HPAI in December of last year.
“In a typical poultry house, the HPAI virus can kill nearly an entire flock within 48 hours,” Miller said.
The USDA‘s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service funded the mealworm vaccine project nearly $2 million. To learn more about K-State’s Entomology Department’s work, click here.
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