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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Auburn, Alabama » Aquatic Animal Health Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #227224

Title: Fish Vaccines: Current State and Future Trends

Author
item Klesius, Phillip
item Shoemaker, Craig
item Evans, Joyce

Submitted to: Fisheries Forum Asian Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/30/2008
Publication Date: 9/25/2008
Citation: Klesius, P.H., Shoemaker, C.A., Evans, J.J. 2008. Fish Vaccines: Current State and Future Trends. Fisheries Forum Asian Proceedings. September 25-27, 2008. Shanghai, China.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: A vaccine is a preventive tool used in a health management strategy for the control of infectious diseases. For more than 100 years, vaccines have proved to be effective for preventing infectious disease outbreaks in humans, poultry and other food animals. In aquaculture, the development and use of vaccines is now making rapid progress to achieve full potential as effective disease prevention tools. The objective of vaccination is to provide a strong immune response to an administered antigen able to provide acquired long-term protection against a pathogen. To achieve this objective, either a killed or modified live vaccine needs to be developed and licensed for use in fresh or marine water aquaculture. The type of immunity needed, antibody and/or cell-mediated, against a particular pathogen is among the deciding factors in the development of a vaccine. Immunization with a killed bacterial vaccine produces an antibody-mediated protection, but not cell-mediated immunity. Cellular and/or antibody-mediated immunity can be provided only by immunization with a modified live vaccine. Further, antibody-mediated immunity provided by killed vaccines is relatively short lived in terms of protection (3-5 months). Longer protection (>12 months) is provided by modified live vaccines. The duration of protection may be increased by the addition of an adjuvant to the killed vaccine. An adjuvant is a substance that increases specific immune responses against the co-inoculated antigen. Killed vaccines are usually administered by intraperitonal and/or intramuscular injection of individual fish. Injection is the least cost effective in terms of labor and time. Modified live vaccines may be administered by bath immersion to large numbers of fish (fry and/or eggs) which is a more cost effective method of mass vaccination in both labor and time. Killed vaccines are considered to be safer than modified live vaccines which may revert to virulence. Consequently, future trends include oral delivery of vaccines, immersion delivery of killed vaccines, development of additional modified live vaccines and multivalent vaccines and improved vaccine adjuvant and immunostimulant(s). This paper will present examples of new channel catfish and tilapia vaccines to examine some of the advantages and disadvantages in the development and use of fish vaccines including DNA vaccines.