Manual vaccination is time-consuming. Oral vaccines administered with a dispenser are not commonly used due to lack of labor on farms. Current environmental enrichment technologies do not allow pigs to express certain natural behaviors, such as rooting, and obtain a reward for it. We developed a sprayer so that domestic pigs can self-apply any liquid. By adding an attractant (swine maternal pheromone), pigs’ use of environmental enrichment devices can be increased. In this study, an oral vaccine was used against Salmonella to evaluate the efficacy of three administration methods: (1) Control, no vaccine, (2) manual dispenser as indicated in the package insert, and (3) self-administration using this environmental enrichment rooting device.
All pigs self-administered the vaccine within 80 minutes of exposure to the environmental enrichment device. While the pigs in the control group had little or no IgG or IgA of Salmonella in serum and oral fluid, manually dosed and self-vaccinated pigs had similar levels of IgA and IgG in both serum and oral fluid.
In conclusion, the labor required could be significantly reduced and 100% efficacy in obtaining a serological response was achieved when pigs self-administered the vaccine against Salmonella. This technology could benefit commercial swine production while providing an enriched environment. Self-vaccination could also help in the control or immunization of wild boar and improve the health of domestic pigs and food security.
Robbins RC, Archer C, Giménez-Lirola G, et al. Self-administration of a Salmonella vaccine by domestic pigs. Scientific Reports. 2023; 13: 2972.
2023-12-21 13:27:22
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