Current swine vaccination programs require specific periods when the products are administered as well as multiple doses to be effective. The ability to offer more flexible schedules with controlled antigen release and fewer injections would have distinct advantages. These include reduced stress on the animals, lower costs to the producer, improved efficacy and longer immunity. This proposal describes a feasibility study for using bioabsorbable polymers as adjuvants to develop novel and superior swine biological i. Using pseudorabies virus (PRV) as a model, the proposed research in Phase I is designed to access the kinetics of antigen release and the level and duration of any accompanying immune response. Tissue compatibility of the polymer vaccine in swine will also be determined. Two concentrations (107-3, or 107 8 TDID50) of inactivated PRV will be encapsulated into a poly (esteramide) material. The virus-filled capsule will be injected into PRV negative pigs and the animals will be serologically monitored over a five-month period for release of the virus. Animals will be sacrificed monthly and tissue from the injection site will be excised and analyzed for histopathology.Applications:The results from this study will provide needed information on the antigenicity and response time of a polymer adjuvanted vaccine. Safety in porcine will also be determined. This data is necessary to evaluate the potential of controlled release vaccines for swine. The use of PRV as a model system could lead to the direct development of an improved product for this economically important swine disease. Furthermore, the knowledge gained will be applicable to other diseases and thus may result in a new generation of improved swine immunoprophylactic products as well as products for a variety of other animal diseases.
