Newly developed vaccine against Clostridium perfringens alpha-toxin in rabbits and cattle
Clostridium perfringens type A is an anaerobic bacterium that produces four major toxins that cause various diseases. Most of the important C. perfringens-associated diseases of farm animals are caused by alpha-toxin. This study aimed to produce a vaccine against alpha-toxin using C. perfringens type A (ATCC 13124) and investigate its potency, stability and safety.
The vaccine was formulated of its constituents for one hour. Each milliliter of the final vaccine product contained alpha toxoid 15 lecithovitellinase activity (Lv) by adding (0.375 mL containing 40 Lv) and approximately 0.2 mL from 3% concentrated aluminum hydroxide gel, <0.001% W/V thiomersal, <0.05% W/V formaldehyde, and nearly 0.425 mL phosphate-buffered saline (pH 7.2). Researchers evaluated the vaccine efficacy in rabbits and cattle by performing potency, stability and safety tests.
The vaccine produced approximately 8.8 and 4.9 IU/mL neutralizing antibodies in rabbits and cattle, respectively. These concentrations were higher than the lowest concentration recommended by various international protocols and the U.S. Department of Agriculture by 2.20-fold in rabbits and 1.23-fold in cattle.
Interestingly, the formulated vaccine enhanced immune responses by 1.80-fold in rabbits compared with the response in cattle. This difference was statistically significant (p < 0.0001).
The vaccine was stable for 30 months. In vaccinated rabbits, the body temperature slightly increased temporarily during the first 10 h of vaccination; however, the temperature difference was not statistically significant (p > 0.05).
The study describes a manufacturing process to obtain sufficient amounts of a vaccine against C. perfringens alpha-toxin. The formulated vaccine effectively elicited a higher level of neutralizing antibody response than the international standards. Furthermore, the vaccine was found to be stable, safe and effective in preventing C. perfringens-related diseases in rabbits and cattle. Researchers said that further studies are necessary to evaluate the efficacy of this vaccine in other farm animals.
“Immunogenicity of a newly developed vaccine against Clostridium perfringens alpha-toxin in rabbits and cattle.” Mohamed J Saadh, et al. Vet World. 2022 Jul;15(7):1617-1623. doi: 10.14202/vetworld.2022.1617-1623.
Comments
Related Articles
Copyright © 2025 - All Rights Reserved
ISSN 2768-198X
List
Add
Please enter a comment