Researchers Evaluate Effectiveness of Self Vaccination Using an Environmental Enrichment Device

Research conducted by Texas Tech University has found the use of a device that allows pigs to self vaccinate for disease prevention has potential but more work is needed.With funding provided through the Swine Health Information Center Wean-to-Harvest Biosecurity Research Program, in partnership with the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research and Pork Checkoff, scientists with Texas Tech University compared the effectiveness of an environmental enrichment device designed to stimulate natural behavior such as rooting and play and used to allow pigs to self-vaccinate through their natural behavior to hand administered vaccination.

SHIC Associate Director Dr. Lisa Becton says the goal was to determine whether a self vaccinating device could be used to reduce the labour it  takes to vaccinate pigs by hand, the stress it causes the pigs and the biosecurity risk of people moving from farm to farm and pen to pen.

Clip-Dr. Lisa Becton-Swine Health Information Center:

For the pathogens that were looked at, both for Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and influenza A virus, the use of the self vaccinating device did not show either serum or oral fluid response or antibody response as compared to the hand vaccinated group.For erysipelas there was both serum and oral fluid antibodies developed, the same comparably as hand vaccinated.When they looked at ileitis or Lawsonia, only antibodies for oral fluids were detected when compared to hand vaccinated.

It was determined that inactivated vaccines, which are killed vaccines that we typically use for many pathogens, usually require an adjuvant to help stimulate an immune response and at that this point they may not be as suitable for a self vaccinated device as something that could be delivered orally like erysipelas or ileitis.However, it does open the window to be able to assess how could such a device be altered or formulas of vaccines be altered to be able to deliver vaccines as needed such as intramuscular injection or even subcu.

Dr. Becton suggests the results show there is value in looking at such a device but procedures may need to be altered to optimise how those devices work.