Standardized Plant Extract Alleviates the Negative Effects of FMD Vaccination on Animal Performance

Abstract

The present study was conducted to assess the efficacy of a plant extract (PE) on growth performance and immune status in foot and mouth disease (FMD)-vaccinated growing pigs. A total of 120 crossed ((Landrace × Yorkshire) × Duroc) growing pigs with an average initial body weight (BW) of 24.66 ± 2.34 kg and an average age of 70 days were randomized into three groups (10 pens; 4 pigs per pen per treatment) as follows: a nonvaccinated negative control group (NV), a FMD vaccinated group (OV), and a third group received a 0.0125% PE supplement after vaccination (PV), in a 6-week trial. The PV group receiving PE supplementation increased (p < 0.05) the BW compared with the OV group, and average daily gain (ADG) during days 1–14, overall and gain-to-feed ratio (G: F) in days 1–14, and dry matter (DM) digestibility at week 6 were higher (p < 0.05) in the PV compared with the OV group. A significant increase (p < 0.05) in haptoglobin concentration was observed in the OV group compared with the NV group at 25 days postvaccination. The inhibition percentage of antibodies against FMD in the sera reached above 50% in the PV group 5 days earlier than in the OV group. The findings suggest that the inclusion of PE in the diet promoted the performance of vaccinated growing pigs.

Intradermal Inoculation of Inactivated Foot-and-Mouth Disease Vaccine Induced Effective Immune Responses Comparable to Conventional Intramuscular Injection in Pigs

“…All SPF pigs gained body weight steadily after vaccination, and the ADWG of the ID group was similar to that of the IM group ( Figure 1 ). In a previous study using the same vaccine, differences in ADWG were not observed between the IM-vaccinated and non-vaccinated groups until six weeks after vaccination [ 17 ]. The results of this and previous studies confirm that pig productivity does not change with a vaccination regimen.…”