Effect of Vaccine, Route, and Schedule on Antibody Response of Rabbits to Pasteurella tularensis

Abstract

The response of the rabbit to viable or killed whole-cell Pasteurella tularensis vaccines was studied. The most practical preparation for the production of anti- P. tularensis antibodies was viable organisms of the live vaccine strain (LVS). The intravenous route of administration proved superior to either the subcutaneous or intradermal routes, and incorporation of LVS into Freund's adjuvants did not result in increased levels of antibody. Short-term hyperimmunization, three injections at weekly intervals, constituted the most efficient method for increasing levels of the antibodies.

Francisella and Antibodies

“…Studies on diverse animal species infected by F. tularensis strains have revealed a uniformity of antibody production onset during the second week after infection or vaccination, as well as a significant dependency of antibody production intensity on the route of infection or vaccination. That routing may determine the type of the induced immune response and have bearing on the type of test that must be used to detect the antibodies [81][82][83][84][85]. The characteristics of Francisella-specific antibody production presented in the aforementioned studies were derived from samples collected during the adaptive immune response stage.…”