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Title: Passive antibody transfer in chickens to model maternal antibody after avian influenza vaccination

Author
item Faulkner, Olivia
item Estevez, Carlos
item Yu, Qingzhong
item Suarez, David

Submitted to: Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/10/2013
Publication Date: 4/15/2013
Citation: Faulkner, O.B., Estevez, C., Yu, Q., Suarez, D.L. 2013. Passive antibody transfer in chickens to model maternal antibody after avian influenza vaccination. Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology. 152(3-4):341-347.

Interpretive Summary: Vaccination is commonly used to control outbreaks of avian influenza in poultry. In chickens if the mother hen has been vaccinated or naturally exposed to a virus, it will develop antibodies that it can pass to the chick. This maternal antibody can provide early protection to the chick, but it can also interfere with vaccination in the chick. In order to study this maternal antibody interference we developed a model to give the antibody directly to the chick allowing us to examine more closely the immune response of chicks to different vaccines. Using three types of vaccines, we showed that they were all susceptible to maternal antibody, and that new strategies for early vaccination are needed.

Technical Abstract: Birds transfer maternal antibodies (MAb) to their offspring through the egg yolk where the antibody is absorbed and enters the circulatory system. These maternal antibodies, depending on the pathogen, can provide early protection from some diseases, but it may also interfere with the vaccination response in the chick. MAb is thought to interfere with vaccine antigen processing which reduces the subsequent immune response. Once MAb titers are depleted the chick is both susceptible to viral infection, but they will also respond to typical vaccinations. This study examined the affect of MAb on seroconversion to different avian influenza virus (AIV) vaccines. Chicks were passively transferred antibodies (PTA) using AIV hyperimmunized serum, and then vaccinated with an inactivated AI vaccine, a fowlpox-AI recombinant vaccine, or a Newcastle Disease Virus-AI recombinant vaccine. Passively transferred antibodies did not significantly reduce seroconversion to the inactivated vaccine; however, PTA reduced seroconversion in recombinant vaccinated chicks suggesting MAb interference.