report
2.2.3.3 Disease and Pest Control in Domesticated Animals

Potential applications for controlling pests in domesticated animals based on nanotechnology developments, are broadly similar to those developed for human health, and include liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles, and nanoshells. However, these must take into consideration other factors such as species specific treatments and application methods, and the non-trivial aspect of cost (some species, such as chickens, have high numbers and a low profit margin). Many different economically important diseases are poorly controlled by existing technologies, for example nematode infestation, tuberculosis, foot and mouth disease, swine fever, avian influenza. This can be at the level of prevention, e.g. due to poor responses from existing (such as live attenuated strains or subunit vaccines) or inadequate therapeutic measures in diseased animals.

In most respects, the most convenient and inexpensive way to deliver treatment to domesticated animals is through feed or water. This is already the case for the use of antibiotics to combat bacterial infections (e.g. in poultry). For vaccination against disease however this is still largely delivered by injection, although there is much active research to develop efficacious aerosol vaccines that can be delivered to airways , , . Nanotechnology may be applied to these measures, however at present there is little work reported in this area. Of the research that is underway, the use of conjugated nanoparticles is perhaps the most promising. These can be absorbed by the vaccinated animal's immune system leading to responses similar to that observed with the live pathogen. Although the research in this area, as far as animal health is concerned, is limited, there are published reports on foot and mouth disease , and swine fever . Other systems that are being investigated include chitosan nanoparticles for fish oral vaccination , nasal vaccination against swine atrophic rhinitis , and as anti-bacterial agents in a number of settings.

Other preventive measures include the use of nano-clays to bind to mycotoxins on grain used in animal feed (these are non-toxic and have the additional benefit of aiding digestion).