Passive protection of neonatal calves against bovine coronavirus-induced diarrhea by administration of egg yolk or colostrum antibody powder

Abstract

The protective effect of egg yolk and colostrum powders prepared from hens and cows vaccinated with inactivated bovine coronavirus (BCV) antigen was evaluated in a challenge model with a virulent BCV strain. Twenty three calves from BCV-free herds were randomly divided into control and several treatment groups. All calves were orally challenged with 1 x 10(9) TCID50 of the virulent Kakegawa strain of BCV at 24 to 36 h after birth. Calves in treatment groups received either egg yolk powder or cow colostrum containing BCV specific antibodies. Daily treatment with these antibody preparations started 6 h until 7 days post-challenge. Control calves which received no antibody had severe diarrhea and all died within 6 days after infection. In contrast, calves fed milk containing egg yolk or colostrum with neutralization titers of 1:2560 or 1:10,240 respectively all survived and had positive weight gain unlike the other treatment groups. These results indicate that the orally administered egg yolk and colostrum powders protected against BCV-induced diarrhea in neonatal calves and that the egg yolk used provided a higher degree of protection compared to colostrum powder on a titer basis. Treatment with whole egg yolk from immunized hens therefore provides a more efficacious alternative to the existing methods of specific passive protection against BCV.

Effects of feeding polyclonal antibody preparations on ruminal bacterial populations and ruminal pH of steers fed high-grain diets

“…led to reductions in ruminal lactate concentration and target bacteria (Shu et al, 1999). Similarly, passive immunization achieved by feeding colostrum or eggs successfully prevented bovine coronavirus diarrhea (Ikemori et al, 1997) in bottle-fed calves. Feeding avian antibodies is a possible alternative because immunoglobulin Y, the main source of immunoglobulins in avian antibodies, is resistant to heat, acid digestion, and proteolysis (Shimizu et al, 1988).…”

Production and characterization of egg yolk antibody (IgY) against recombinant VP8-S2 antigen

“…Vega et al (2011) reported that supplementing newborn calves; diets for the first 14 days of the life with egg yolk, represents a promising strategy to prevent bovine rotavirus diarrhea. Ikemori et al (1997) indicated that the orally administered egg yolk of immunized hens with bovine coronavirus and colostrums powders protected against bovine coronavirus which induced diarrhea in neonatal calves.…”

Production and characterization of egg yolk antibodies against bovine alimentary tract pathogens

“…Ikemori et al (1997) vaccinated 10 white Leghorn hens with NCDC antigen containing about 10 8.5 TCID 50 /ml with 0.3% formalin. The antigen was mixed with an equal volume of oil adjuvant with 5% mannide monooleate and 1.0 ml of the mixture was injected intramuscularly.…”

“…Antibodies from hens vaccinated with Salmonella Enteritidis, among others, significantly suppressed in vitro production of the toxin compared to non-immunized yolk (Sugita-Konishi et al 1996). Vaccination of hens could be better solution than vaccination of cows, because large scale production is easier and there is not much difference because of similar antibody response (neutralization titers 1:5120) in vaccinated hens and cows (Ikemori et al 1997).…”