Promising strategies for accelerating the eradication of avian leukosis in China

The national breeding and disease eradication programs in China are crucial for the healthy and sustainable development of the poultry industry. Among them, avian leukosis virus, the causative agent of avian leukosis (AL), is one of the important pathogens that must be strictly controlled due to its effects on immune suppression, tumorigenicity, and decreased production performance on the chicken flocks. Although scientists have made many efforts in various directions, currently, there are still no effective prevention and control strategies available except for eradication which has been implemented and confirmed by many countries, including China. However, due to the low efficacy, time-consuming, and high cost, current eradication programs struggle to keep up with the rapid development of the poultry industry in China. Thus, enhancing eradication efficiency and reducing operational cost are critical determinants for holistically expediting China's AL eradication program. This review aims to supply several potential strategies for accelerating the eradication of AL in China, including: improving the efficiency of virus isolation and the sensitivity of current detection methods; vaccines, therapeutic antibodies, and small molecule antiviral drugs; AL resistance breeding; comprehensive prevention and control of AL and the construction of biosecurity system; other significant measures, including epidemiological investigations, talents cultivation, top-down design, publicity and education, etc .