In ovo application of a live infectious bursal disease vaccine to commercial broilers confers proper immunity

Infectious bursal disease (IBD) is an economically important disease of young chickens caused by the Avibirnavirus infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV). Besides biosecurity, vaccination is the most important measure for IBDV control. Sufficient levels of maternally derived antibodies (MDA) protect against early challenge and also interfere with the take of live conventional vaccines. Recently, the field surveys conducted in four countries, published by Ashash, U., Noach, C., Perelman, B., Costello, C., Sansalone, P., Brazil, T. & Raviv, Z. [(2019). In ovo and day of hatch application of a live infectious bursal disease virus vaccine to commercial broilers. Avian Diseases, 63, 713-720] using the MB-1 vaccine strain by in ovo application or sub-cutaneous route at the day of hatch seem to conflict with the rule that very early application of a conventional live vaccine in birds with significant levels of MDA has very little chance of a successful immune response. An in ovo vaccination-challenge controlled experiment with MB-1 vaccine was performed using commercial broilers with high levels of MDA against IBDV and a vvIBDV challenge at 22 or 36 days of age. Clinical signs, bursa-bodyweight ratios, histology, serology, RT-PCR, Sanger- and deep sequencing were used to study the efficacy and safety of the in ovo-applied MB1 vaccine in comparison to an established immuno-complex vaccine. The study findings confirmed that the in ovo application of the live MB-1 vaccine in commercial broilers was successful and induced full protection against a vvIBDV challenge at 22 and 36 days of age, demonstrated by the bursa lesion score and qPCR and IBDV genotyping. Comparable to the field studies, a delayed viral replication of 2-3 weeks, following the in ovo administration of the MB1 vaccine, was observed.

A tetrazolium-based colorimetric assay for titration of neutralizing antibodies against vaccinia virus

A colorimetric assay for titration of neutralizing antibodies against vaccinia virus was developed. The test is based on the ability of live cells in culture to reduce the yellow tetrazolium salt MTT (thiazolyl-blue), to its blue formazan derivative. Antisera from individuals vaccinated with vaccinia virus against smallpox were serially diluted, incubated with 100 plaque-forming units (PFU) of vaccinia virus for 1 hour at 37 degrees C, and then transferred to a 96-well plate containing monolayers of B-SC-1 cells. After incubation for 3 to 4 days at 37 degrees C, when more than 80% of the control infected cultures exhibited high degree of cytopathogenic effect, MTT was added. The absorbance of the formazan formed and extracted by dimethylsulfoxide was read at 492 nm by an automatic microplate spectrophotometer. A good correlation was found between the results obtained using this newly developed method and those of the plaque-reduction assay.