Protection against Coccidiosis in Outbred Chickens Elicited by Gamma-Irradiated Eimeria maxima

Abstract

In an effort to develop an attenuated coccidiosis vaccine against coccidiosis, we exposed Eimeria maxima oocysts to an optimum dose of gamma irradiation (17 kRad) that does not affect sporozoite invasion of the intestinal mucosa but does prevent asexual parasite development. Irradiated E. maxima oocysts were suspended in gelatin slabs and placed in battery cages for ingestion by 1-day-old chickens. Separate groups of chickens were given gelatin slabs containing nonirradiated E. maxima oocysts or were inoculated per os with either irradiated or nonirradiated E. maxima oocysts. Chickens infected with irradiated or nonirradiated oocysts by either oral inoculation or gel delivery showed a dose-dependent protection against weight loss associated with E. maxima challenge compared with unimmunized controls. In general, nonirradiated oocysts elicited protective immunity at lower immunization doses compared with irradiated oocysts. These experiments were extended to a floor pen study wherein 1-day-old male and female broiler chickens were given irradiated or nonirradiated E. maxima oocysts in gelatin slabs in hatching boxes and challenged at 4 wk of age. A significant reduction (P < 0.05) in lesion scores was observed for chickens immunized with either irradiated or nonirradiated oocysts compared with unimmunized controls. Although no significant difference (P > 0.05) was observed in weight gain between these groups, both male and female chickens inoculated with irradiated E. maxima oocysts showed about a 10% greater weight gain than unimmunized controls. For both male and female chickens, average weights at challenge were greater in groups that were immunized with 17-kRad-irradiated E. maxima oocysts compared with those animals immunized with nonirradiated oocysts.