Researchers with the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization are exploring the mechanisms involved in triggering an immune response in sows and gilts inoculated using intrauterine vaccination.
Researchers with the Western College of Veterinary Medicine and the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization are exploring the potential benefits of intrauterine vaccination, a technique where vaccine is administered to sows and gilts along with the sperm during artificial insemination.
Donaldson Magloire, graduate masters student with Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization, says the work is still experimental but researchers have established that the vaccine does trigger an antibody response and that it does not affect reproduction.
Clip-Donaldson Magloire-Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization:
As a team we know that the vaccine is working but we do not know how the vaccine works.
This is where I come in.
I am investigation the mechanism, the immune function of how the vaccine works where I am looking to find out why is it working?
Once we know the mechanism, we can then make the vaccine better.
We know that an immune response is created however we still need to know which immune cells are the key players in bringing this immune response and conferring protection to the pigs.
Right now, we are doing further experiments where we are vaccinating the pigs and we are analysing which cells are the key players using laboratory techniques like flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry so we can identify the main immune cells involved in responding to the vaccines.
Magloire expects this approach will be of particular benefit to producers.
He says, because the vaccine is administered with the sperm, those already trained in artificial insemination will be able to administer the vaccine without any additional training.
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Bruce Cochrane.
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