Development of immunity to porcine rotavirus in piglets protected from disease by bovine colostrum

Abstract

Bovine colostrum with rotavirus-neutralizing activity was fed for 10 days to two groups of piglets, one of which was inoculated intranasally with a rotavirus of porcine origin. A third group, which did not receive colostrum, was also inoculated with the virus, and these piglets developed diarrhea, excreted rotavirus in the feces, and died 6 days after infection. In contrast, the infected piglets fed with bovine colostrum remained healthy, although they developed antibody to rotavirus. Twenty-seven days after the primary inoculation, piglets in the colostrum-fed groups were inoculated intranasally with virus. Those in the previously unexposed group became clinically ill and excreted rotavirus, whereas those which had experienced a previous subclinical infection (the colostrum-fed, virus-inoculated group) remained healthy. It was concluded that bovine colostrum protected piglets from the clinical effects of a porcine rotavirus and that these animals developed an immunity which prevented subsequent disease.

Enteric Viral Infections of Calves and Passive Immunity

“…The active immunity was indicated by a transient increase of blood serum IgA and IgM antibody following virus challenge. Observations were similar in studies of passive immunity in rotavirus-challenged gnotobiotic lambs fed homologous colostrum (67) or gnotobiotic piglets fed bovine colostrum (9). As further illustrated in Figure 6 for CD #54 calf, calves had high serum IgG1 and virus neutralizing antibody titers after 2 i.m.…”

“…Depending on a number of poorly understood variables, calves then may begin shedding rotavirus with or without accompanying disease. The present investigation and others (9,67) indicate that whereas most animals that are protected while receiving passive immunity may develop active immunity, other animals may remain susceptible to a subsequent infection, becoming a source of virus for additional animals. This might explain partially the occasional occurrence of sequential rotavirus infections in the same animal.…”

“…This infection, kept in abeyance by daily colostrum feedings, sometimes resulted in a mild overt infection when colostrum feeding ceased. Other evidence supporting these conclusions is from protection studies in two rotavirus challenged gnotobiotic piglets fed bovine colostrum (9). Both animals remained clinically normal during colostrum feeding, but after cessation, a similar subclinical excretion of virus commenced in one piglet, and both developed serum antibodies.…”

Characterisation of rotavirus isolates from sub-clinically infected calves by genome profile analysis

“…A similar survey carried out on children found that rotavirus shedding was detected to the same degree in children with or without diarrhoea (Barron-Romero et al, 1985). The reasons for sub-clinical reactions to infection have not been fully elucidated, but there is experimental evidence that oral administration of antibody during virulent rotavirus infection eliminates any clinical signs of the infection (Snodgrass and Wells, 1976;Bridger and Brown, 1981). Differences in virulence among bovine rotaviruses have also been reported (Carpio et al, 1981) but naturally occurring avirulent strains have not yet been isolated and characterised.…”

Colostrum from cows immunized with a veterinary vaccine against bovine rotavirus displays enhanced in vitro anti-human rotavirus activity

“…The supportive properties of BC when consumed by other mammalian species, including pigs and humans, are well documented in the medical literature (Bridger and Brown, 1981;Pakkanen and Aalto, 1997;Gopal and Gill, 2000;He et al, 2001;Solomons, 2002;Uruakpa et al, 2002;Boudry et al, 2007;Struff and Sprotte, 2007). Emerging evidence indicates that BC is a promising nutraceutical that could prevent or mitigate various diseases in newborns and adults (Bagwe et al, 2015), in particular gastrointestinal infections.…”