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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Mississippi State, Mississippi » Poultry Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #287460
Title: Impact of fowlpox-vectored Mycoplasma gallisepticum vaccine Vectormune® FP MG on layer hen egg production and egg quality parameters

Author
item Leigh, Spencer
item Branton, Scott
item Evans, Jeffrey - Jeff
item Collier, Stephanie

Submitted to: Poultry Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/16/2013
Publication Date: 12/15/2013
Citation: Leigh, S.A., Branton, S.L., Evans, J.D., Collier, S.D. 2013. Impact of fowlpox-vectored Mycoplasma gallisepticum vaccine Vectormune® FP MG on layer hen egg production and egg quality parameters. Poultry Science. 92(12):3172-3175.

Interpretive Summary: Mycoplasma gallisepticum causes a chronic infection in domestic poultry which can lead to significant economic losses for poultry producers. The most efficient method of protection against M. gallisepticum infection for poultry species is by vaccination. The recently introduced recombinant Vectormune® FP MG vaccine is reported to provide some protection from M. gallisepticum infection while also yielding a negative result when producers test for M. gallisepticum infection. This research demonstrated that the Vectormune® FP MG vaccine had no effect on table egg production or egg quality parameters when compared to unvaccinated pullets. This work further showed that the Vectormune® FP MG vaccine provided sufficient protection that a flock could be revaccinated with a more virulent M. gallisepticum vaccine without the demonstrated decrease in egg production that such vaccinations usually incur. The results of this work provide a foundation for usage of this vaccine in the vaccination regimen for M. gallisepticum protection.

Technical Abstract: This study was conducted to determine the impact of vaccination with Vectormune®FP MG on egg production and egg quality characteristics of white leghorn hens. Due to questions of the efficacy of this vaccine in preventing M. gallisepticum mediated pathology, the ability of this vaccine to protect against post-production-peak F-strain M. gallisepticum vaccination egg losses was also investigated. Vaccination with Vectormune®FP MG did not result in any significant change in egg production or egg quality parameters when compared to control (unvaccinated) hens. Vaccination with F-strain M. gallisepticum at 45 weeks of age (woa) had no impact on egg production or egg quality parameters of Vectormune®FP MG vaccinated hens, unlike prior results for post-production-peak vaccination with F-strain M. gallisepticum of naïve hens. No difference in egg size distribution was observed for any of the treatment groups before or after F-strain M. gallisepticum vaccination. These results suggest that hens can be safely vaccinated with Vectormune®FP MG and can be revaccinated with a live M. gallisepticum vaccine such as F-strain M. gallisepticum at a later date if with no deleterious effects to egg production.