Evaluation of the humoral immune response and fecal shedding in weanling foals following oral and intra-rectal administration of an avirulent live vaccine of Lawsonia intracellularis.
Abstract: Equine proliferative enteropathy (EPE) caused by Lawsonia intracellularis has recently been recognized as an emerging disease in foals. Whilst the clinical entity, diagnostic evaluation and treatment of affected foals have been well established and described, preventive measures for EPE have remained largely unaddressed. The objectives of this study were to investigate the humoral immune response and onset and duration of fecal shedding in foals after oral and intra-rectal administration of a modified-live vaccine of L. intracellularis. Foals were vaccinated twice, 3 weeks apart, via oral drenching after pre-medication with a proton-pump inhibitor (omeprazole; group 1), intra-rectally (group 2) or orally without any pre-medication (group 3). The health status of the foals was monitored daily, with feces and serum collected at regular intervals for Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and serology. All foals remained healthy and no adverse vaccine reactions were observed. Fecal shedding lasted from 1 to 12 days and was mainly detected in foals receiving the intra-rectal vaccine 11-15 days following the first vaccine administration. Serological responses were measured in the majority of the vaccinated foals. All foals vaccinated intra-rectally seroconverted after the first vaccine, compared to 50% and 0% of foals in groups 1 and 3, respectively. Pre-medication with omeprazole prior to oral vaccination in group 1 foals led to an earlier and stronger detectable humoral response compared to non pre-medicated foals.
Publication Date: 2008-10-02 PubMed ID: 18835201DOI: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2008.08.016Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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This research studied the effects of a modified-live vaccine for Lawsonia intracellularis, the bacteria that causes equine proliferative enteropathy (EPE), in foals. The researchers evaluated the immune response and duration of fecal shedding in the foals after receiving the vaccine either orally or rectally.
Study Methodology
- The researchers conducted the study on three groups of foals. The vaccine was administered twice, spaced three weeks apart. Foals in the first group were given the vaccine orally, preceded by a dose of a proton-pump inhibitor called omeprazole. The second group of foals received the vaccine intra-rectally, and the third group got it orally without any pre-medication.
- The health, fecal shedding, and immune response of the foals were monitored daily. This was done by collecting feces and serum samples at regular intervals for Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing and serology to measure the immune response.
Key Findings
- All the foals remained healthy and showed no adverse reactions to the vaccine.
- Fecal shedding of the bacteria lasted anywhere from 1 to 12 days. It was mainly detected in the foals that received the vaccine intra-rectally, usually 11-15 days after the first dose of the vaccine was given.
- Most of the foals drew a serological (immune) response to the vaccine. Specifically, all foals given the vaccine intra-rectally seroconverted (showed an immune response) after the first vaccine, while half the foals in the first group (those who received the vaccine orally with pre-medication) showed an immune response. None of the foals who received the vaccine orally without pre-medication responded to the vaccine in the same way.
- Omeprazole, used as a pre-medication in the oral vaccine group, led to an earlier and stronger immune response compared to foals that didn’t receive pre-medication.
Implications
- This study revealed that a modified-live vaccine administered orally or rectally can induce an immune response in foals against Lawsonia intracellularis, therefore playing a potential role in preventing EPE.
- Moreover, it highlighted the effectiveness of pre-medicating with a proton-pump inhibitor like omeprazole, leading to an enhanced and quicker immune response in orally-vaccinated foals.
- The study’s findings can have significant implications in EPE management, opening up new avenues for better preventive measures.
Cite This Article
APA
Pusterla N, Hilton H, Wattanaphansak S, Collier JR, Mapes SM, Stenbom RM, Gebhart C.
(2008).
Evaluation of the humoral immune response and fecal shedding in weanling foals following oral and intra-rectal administration of an avirulent live vaccine of Lawsonia intracellularis.
Vet J, 182(3), 458-462.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2008.08.016 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA. npusterla@ucdavis.edu
MeSH Terms
- Administration, Oral
- Administration, Rectal
- Animals
- Animals, Newborn
- Bacterial Vaccines / administration & dosage
- Desulfovibrionaceae Infections / immunology
- Desulfovibrionaceae Infections / prevention & control
- Desulfovibrionaceae Infections / veterinary
- Enteritis / immunology
- Enteritis / microbiology
- Enteritis / prevention & control
- Enteritis / veterinary
- Feces / microbiology
- Female
- Horse Diseases / immunology
- Horse Diseases / microbiology
- Horse Diseases / prevention & control
- Horses
- Immunity, Humoral
- Lawsonia Bacteria / immunology
- Male
- Vaccines, Attenuated
Citations
This article has been cited 5 times.- Matté YA, Baldasso DZ, Rezende MA, Lui JFM, Seibel AC, Guizzo JA, Frandoloso R, Kreutz LC. Immunological insights into the occurrence of Lawsonia intracellularis in horses from southern Brazil using flow cytometry. Vet World 2025 Apr;18(4):755-762.
- Chen C, Zhou Z, Niu K, Du C, Liang A, Yang L. Efficacy and Safety of Nasal Immunisation with Somatostatin DNA Vaccine for Growth Promotion in Fattening Pigs. Animals (Basel) 2022 Nov 8;12(22).
- Pusterla N, Gebhart C. Equine proliferative enteropathy caused by Lawsonia intracellularis. Equine Vet Educ 2009 Aug;21(8):415-419.
- Pusterla N, Gebhart C. Lawsonia intracellularis infection and proliferative enteropathy in foals. Vet Microbiol 2013 Nov 29;167(1-2):34-41.
- Pusterla N, Gebhart CJ. Equine proliferative enteropathy--a review of recent developments. Equine Vet J 2013 Jul;45(4):403-9.
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