Impact of commercial and autogenous Escherichia coli vaccine combination on broiler breeder stock performance, gross pathology, and diversity of Escherichia coli isolates

Abstract

Avian colibacillosis is one of the main causes of economic losses in the poultry industry worldwide. Vaccination could help to prevent infection during the laying period on broiler breeder farms. Effective vaccination against avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) may be an essential step for protection of poultry flocks depending on the region where they are raised. The aim of this study was to investigate the additive protective effect of an autogenous E. coli vaccine in broiler breeders pre-vaccinated with a licensed E. coli vaccine (Poulvac®). Our field study was partially blinded and parallel group designed. Group 1 included 24 000 laying hens vaccinated by Poulvac®. Group 2 comprised 12 000 laying hens vaccinated by Poulvac® and additionally, by an autogenous E. coli vaccine via intramuscular application before transfer. The effectiveness of vaccination in both groups was evaluated according to the results of gross pathology, bacteriology (isolation and characterization of E. coli) and utility indicators. Based on the pathology, the occurrence of E. coli polyserositis syndrome (EPS), salpingoperitonitis syndrom (SPS), and haemorrhagic septicaemia was decreased in Group 2 compared to Group 1. The difference in the occurrence of EPS (P < 0.001) and SPS (P = 0.0342) was significant. The proportion of serotype O78 among E. coli isolated from Group 1 and Group 2 was also significant (P = 0.0178). The effective and multi-serotype vaccination program in order to expand heterologous protection of laying hens and combination of commercial and autogenous vaccines seems to be a promising preventive management tool.

Positive Assessment of an Autogenous Vaccine Against Pathogenic Escherichia coli in Broiler Breeders and their Progeny in Morocco

“…Previous work has obtained comparable results upon experimental aerogenic APEC infection, where the overall gross pathology scores were 2.8 unvaccinated and 1.95 in the vaccinated E. coli challenged groups, respectively [16]. The recent trial reporting on the efficacy of a bivalent autogenous vaccine (where both valences correspond to a single serotype) similarly evidenced a significant reduction in the average lesion scores among vaccinates, as compared to control groups [15]. Taken together, these results suggest that autogenous vaccination is efficacious at limiting the severity of colibacillosis in breeding laying hens, provided the clinical strains included in the vaccine have been adequately selected.…”

“…A previous field study has been conducted in broiler breeder hens vaccinated with Poulvac ® (O78) and additionally with a bivalent autogenous E. coli vaccine [15]. The latter contained two strains belonging to the clonal complex 95, that are both closely related to an O2 reference strain, hence providing protection against a single serotype.…”

A systematic review and meta-analysis on the efficacy of vaccination against colibacillosis in broiler production

“…However, no differences were observed in FCR between the two groups. Another study showed that colibacillosis-related lesions were observed less frequently in the flock of birds vaccinated with both live attenuated Poulvac1 and autogenous vaccines compared to the group vaccinated only with live attenuated vaccine, indicating some benefits of combining both vaccines in the field [73].…”