IM Vaccination Research Articles

Protection against white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) infection in kuruma shrimp orally vaccinated with WSSV rVP26 and rVP28

White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) is the causative agent of white spot disease (WSD), one of the most serious diseases affecting global shrimp farming. We compared WSSV infection induction in kuruma shrimp Marsupenaeus japonicus by oral, immersion, and intramuscular injection (IM) exposure methods and evaluated the oral vaccine prepared from the recombinant WSSV proteins rVP26 and rVP28. The 50% lethal doses (LD50) of WSSV by oral, immersion, and IM challenges were 10(-0.4), 109-4.4), and 10(-7.7) g shrimp(-1), respectively, indicating that WSSV infection efficiency by oral challenge was significantly less than the other 2 challenge routes. However, in shrimp farms it is believed that WSSV infection is easily and commonly established by the oral route as a result of cannibalization of WSSV-infected shrimp. Kuruma shrimp vaccinated orally with WSSV rVP26 or rVP28 were challenged with WSSV by oral, immersion, and IM routes to compare protection efficacy. The relative percent survival values were 100% for oral challenge, 70 to 71% for immersion, and 34 to 61% for IM. Thus, the protection against WSSV-infection that was induced in kuruma shrimp by oral vaccination with rVP26 or rVP28 seemed equivalent to that obtained through IM vaccination.

Comparative immunogenicity of trivalent influenza vaccine administered by intradermal or intramuscular route in healthy adults

The present study was undertaken with controls using equal doses ID and IM plus the standard full dose IM to assess the role of route of vaccine in immunogenicity of inactivated influenza vaccine. The study was a prospective, randomized, active-controlled, open label clinical trial conducted in healthy young adult outpatients to compare the effect of route (IM versus ID) on antibody responses to influenza vaccine. Volunteers received 3, 6 or 9 microg of vaccine by ID or IM route; 15 microg IM was also studied. Low doses of vaccine given by either route were almost as immunogenic as the standard 15 microg IM dose of influenza vaccine. ID route was not superior to IM vaccine at inducing antibodies. ID vaccine induced significantly more local inflammatory response than IM vaccine.

Results of vaccination of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) with monovalent inactivated rabies vaccine

To evaluate the humoral immune response of Asian elephants to a primary IM vaccination with either 1 or 2 doses of a commercially available inactivated rabies virus vaccine and evaluate the anamnestic response to a 1-dose booster vaccination. 16 captive Asian elephants. Elephants with no known prior rabies vaccinations were assigned into 2 treatment groups of 8 elephants; 1 group received 1 dose of vaccine, and the other group received 2 doses of vaccine 9 days apart. All elephants received one or two 4-mL IM injections of a monovalent inactivated rabies virus vaccine. Blood was collected prior to vaccination (day 0) and on days 9, 35, 112, and 344. All elephants received 1 booster dose of vaccine on day 344, and a final blood sample was taken 40 days later (day 384). Serum was tested for rabies virus-neutralizing antibodies by use of the rapid fluorescent focus inhibition test. All elephants were seronegative prior to vaccination. There were significant differences in the rabies geometric mean titers between the 2 elephant groups at days 35, 112, and 202. Both groups had a strong anamnestic response 40 days after the booster given at day 344. Results confirmed the ability of Asian elephants to develop a humoral immune response after vaccination with a commercially available monovalent inactivated rabies virus vaccine and the feasibility of instituting a rabies virus vaccination program for elephants that are in frequent contact with humans. A 2-dose series of rabies virus vaccine should provide an adequate antibody response in elephants, and annual boosters should maintain the antibody response in this species.

Efficacy of repeated high‐dose hepatitis B vaccine (80 μg) in patients with chronic liver disease

Patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) respond poorly to standard hepatitis B (HBV) vaccine given as sequential 20 microg IM shots because of an overall impaired immune response. Many of these patients go on to liver transplantation and are at risk of acquiring recurrent or de novo HBV infection. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of high-dose (80 microg) IM HBV vaccination in patients with CLD who had previously failed to respond to a standard three-dose schedule of 40 microg IM vaccine given monthly. A retrospective review was undertaken at our institution of 79 patients with CLD who were treated with high-dose (80 microg) HBV vaccinations. All had previously failed a three-dose course of 40 microg HBV vaccine. An HBV vaccine response was defined as an anti-HBs titer greater than 100 mIU/ml. Liver enzymes, creatinine, age, prothrombin time, total vaccine dose, and MELD score were recorded. No adverse events were reported. Seventy-two per cent (57/79) of the subjects had an adequate response after receiving a mean total dose of 220 mug vaccine (range 80-800 microg). Twenty-eight per cent (22/79) of the subjects did not respond after receiving a mean total dose of 420 microg vaccine (range 240-720 microg). Non-responders had more severe hepatic disease defined as a higher mean total bilirubin level (p = 0.003) and a lower mean albumin level (p < 0.05). Age, prothrombin time, MELD score, and creatinine were not statistically significant between the responders and non-responders. Repeated high-dose (80 microg) HBV vaccination, in patients who do not respond to standard HBV vaccine doses, is safe and effective in the majority of patients with CLD.

Antibody responses to Brugia malayi antigens induced by DNA vaccination

BackgroundDNA vaccination is a convenient means of immunizing animals with recombinant parasite antigens. DNA delivery methods are believed to affect the qualitative nature of immune responses to DNA vaccines in ways that may affect their protective activity. However, relatively few studies have directly compared immune responses to plasmids encoding the same antigens after injection by different routes. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the influence of the route of administration on antibody responses to plasmids encoding antigens from the filarial nematode parasite Brugia malayi.MethodsFour B. malayi genes and partial genes encoding paramyosin (BM5), heat shock protein (BMHSP-70), intermediate filament (BMIF) and a serodiagnostic antigen (BM14) were inserted in eukaryotic expression vectors (pJW4303 and pCR™3.1). BALB/c mice were immunized with individual recombinant plasmids or with a cocktail of all four plasmids by intramuscular injection (IM) or by gene gun-intradermal inoculation (GG). Antibody responses to recombinant antigens were measured by ELISA. Mean IgG1 to IgG2a antibody ratios were used as an indicator of Th1 or Th2 bias in immune responses induced with particular antigens by IM or GG immunization. The statistical significance of group differences in antibody responses was assessed by the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test.ResultsMice produced antibody responses to all four filarial antigens after DNA vaccination by either the IM or GG route. Antibody responses to BM5 paramyosin were strongly biased toward IgG1 with lower levels of IgG2a after GG vaccination, while IM vaccination produced dominant IgG2a antibody responses. Antibody responses were biased toward IgG1 after both IM and GG immunization with BMIF, but antibodies were biased toward IgG2a after IM and GG vaccination with BMHSP-70 and BM14. Animals injected with a mixture of four recombinant plasmid DNAs produced antibodies to all four antigens.ConclusionsOur results show that monovalent and polyvalent DNA vaccination successfully induced antibody responses to a variety of filarial antigens. However, antibody responses to different antigens varied in magnitude and with respect to isotype bias. The isotype bias of antibody responses following DNA vaccination can be affected by route of administration and by intrinsic characteristics of individual antigens.

Effect of heterogeneity of rabies virus strain and challenge route on efficacy of inactivated rabies vaccines in mice

To determine effect of route of challenge and strain of rabies virus on efficacy of inactivated rabies vaccines in mice. 3,056 mice. Challenge was performed with fixed and street rabies virus strains by use of footpad and intracerebral routes as well as IM injection into the hip, shoulder, neck, and masseter muscles. Intraperitoneal and IM vaccination was performed with 1 or 2 doses of 1 of 3 vaccine-strain inactivated rabies vaccines. For 2 of the vaccine strains, the vaccines were adjuvanted and nonadjuvanted. Incubation periods were dependent on route, dose, and virus strain used for challenge. Use of an intramasseter challenge route with challenge virus-strain rabies virus, which more accurately models natural exposure to rabies virus, resulted in reproducible mortality rates in mice. Use of this route revealed that differences among vaccines and challenge virus strains affected mortality rate less than that observed in the National Institutes of Health potency test, even when street isolates of widely variant origin were used for challenge. These results, combined with earlier data, support a proposal for a new rabies potency test that more closely models current vaccine administration practices and natural infection routes.

Effects of vaccine route and dosage on protection from rabies after intracerebral challenge in mice.

To evaluate the effect of various routes of administration and number of doses of 3 commercially produced rabies vaccines on serum antibody responses and protection in mice challenged by intracerebral injection with fixed-strain rabies virus. 2,213 mice. Inactivated, adjuvanted rabies vaccines were administered to mice in either 2, 1, or 0 (control) doses via IP, IM, and SC routes, and mice were challenged intracerebrally with fixed-strain rabies virus. Vaccination route and dose number significantly influenced serum antibody responses and protection from rabies virus challenge, independent of vaccine strain origin and mouse strain, although mouse age significantly affected results. Extended challenge studies revealed that IM vaccination of mice resulted in the highest serum neutralizing antibody responses and protection levels equivalent to IP vaccination. Even multiple doses administered SC (a vaccination route used in dogs) resulted in poor serum anti-rabies neutralizing antibody responses in mice and were far less protective than other routes. Findings suggest possible improvements for the current rabies vaccine potency test in mice by using 1 dose, the IM route, and a delayed time of challenge. These modifications would more closely model vaccination practices in target species and yield more accurate information regarding primary immunogenicity of a vaccine.

A randomized comparison of intradermal and intramuscular vaccination against hepatitis B virus in incident chronic hemodialysis patients

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) remains a threat to hemodialysis patients. Nevertheless, the vaccination rate against this virus is low, perhaps because of the low conversion rate. Although intradermal (ID) vaccination has been proven to be effective (even in patients nonresponsive to intramuscular [IM] vaccination), the duration of immunity was short. The impact of vaccination route and a greater peak antibody (Ab) titer on conversion rate and duration of immunity after ID or IM vaccination was compared in incident hemodialysis patients. Forty-nine patients were randomly assigned to treatment with 5 μg of recombinant hepatitis B vaccine (Engerix B; Smith Kline Beecham Pharma Inc, Oakville, ON, Canada) ID every 2 weeks up to either a peak Ab titer of 1,000 IU/L or greater or 52 doses, whereas 48 patients were administered 40 μg IM at 0, 1, 2, and 6 months. Group demographics were similar. Conversion was achieved in 97.6% of the ID group and 90.5% of the IM group (P = 0.16). There was no difference between ID and IM groups in time required to convert, peak Ab titer reached, and proportion of patients with a peak Ab titer of 1,000 IU/L or greater. Overall, the duration of immunity was not different after ID or IM vaccination (P = 0.683), and patients in the IM group with a peak Ab titer of 1,000 IU/L or greater had a longer duration of immunity (P = 0.001). In conclusion, a high conversion rate and long duration of immunity against HBV can be achieved cost-effectively in the end-stage renal disease population using the ID or IM route and aiming for an Ab titer exceeding 1,000 IU/L. Based on these data, we provide recommendations for vaccination and surveillance in this population.

The effect of ascogen on the immune response of Tilapia fish to Aeromonas hydrophila vaccine

The effects of feeding ascogen (5 g kg-1 feed) on the humoral and cell-mediate immune response after immunization of tilapia by intramuscular injection (IM) and direct immersion (DI) with formalin killed Aeromonas hydrophila vaccine (FKAHV) were studied. The results showed that ascogen had a marked immunopotentiating effect after IM as well as after DI vaccination. The immunopotentiating effect of ascogen covered both the humoral and cell-mediated immune response. It was manifested by a marked rise in the geometric mean of antibody titres (haemagglutinating units, HAU) at day 70 after vaccination which reached 409·6 ± 62·71 (after IM) and 48.0 ± 10·.12 (after DI) compared to the vaccinated control groups (57·6 ± 6·40 and 11·2 ± 1·96), respectively. In addition, the mitogenic response of lymphocytes obtained from fish fed with ration containing ascogen was significantly stronger than that of lymphocytes isolated from the control group. Supplementation of ascogen before and after vaccination increased the macrophage migration inhibition percent from 14 to 84 days after vaccination. The relative percent survival of challenged fish after IM and DI vaccination was 89·80% and 40·82% in ascogen supplemented groups compared to the vaccinated nontreated control groups where it was 75·51% and 10·20%, respectively.

Aerosol vaccination of pigs against Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae infection

Summary Aerosol vaccination is used effectively to immunize poultry against Newcastle disease, but to the authors’ knowledge, this vaccination procedure is not well studied in other species. The efficacy of im and aerosol vaccination of pigs against Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae infection was evaluated. Twenty-one pigs from a Mycoplasma-free herd were randomly allotted by litter and body weight into 3 groups. One group was given aerosolized phosphate-buffered saline solution (pbss) by inhalation. The second group (aero) was given aerosolized M hyopneumoniae vaccine by inhalation. The third group (im) was given the same vaccine by im injection. Vaccination by im administration was repeated once, and aerosol vaccination was repeated twice at 2-week intervals. Two weeks after the last vaccination, all pigs were intra-tracheally challenge-exposed with 3 ml of broth culture containing 107 color-changing units (ccu) of a low-passage strain of virulent M hyopneumoniae. Pigs were observed daily for coughing. Four weeks after challenge exposure, all pigs were necropsied. Percentage of lung affected by gross pneumonia was measured, bronchioalveolar lavage fluid (balf) cells were counted, and quantitative culture for mycoplasmas was performed on lung sections. Additionally, M hyopneumoniae-specific antibodies were measured in prevaccination, postvaccination, and postchallenge-exposure serum and balf by use of indirect elisa. Mean prevalence of persistent coughing in pigs of the aero group (4.6 d/pig) was not different from that in pigs of the pbss group (3.7 d/pig). Prevalence of coughing in im vaccinated pigs (1.0 d/ pig) was lower (P &lt; 0.05) than that in pigs of the pbss group. Mean gross lung lesion scores and balf cell counts were not different between the aero (15% pneumonia, 5,233 cells/μl) and pbss (11% pneumonia, 3,022 cells/μ1) groups, but were lower (P &lt; 0.05) in the im group (1.5% pneumonia, 400 cells/μl) than in the pbss group. Mean lung mycoplasmal counts were not significantly (P &lt; 0.05) different among the pbss (105.6 CCU/g), aero (105.3 CCU/g), and im (103.3 CCU/g) groups. Postvaccination M hyopneumoniae-specific IgG or IgA was not detectable in balf after either vaccination procedure. Postvaccination M hyopneumoniae-specific serum IgG concentration was not different among the 3 groups. Postchallenge exposure M hyopneumoniae-specific IgG and IgA were detectable in balf of all pigs, but were not different among the 3 treatment groups. Postchallenge exposure-specific serum IgG concentration was not different between the pbss (mean OD, 0.739) and aero (mean OD, 0.672) groups, but was higher (P &lt; 0.05) in the im group (mean OD, 1.185) than in the pbss group. Aerosol vaccination failed to induce local and systemic antibody responses detectable by elisa, and failed to protect pigs against mycoplasmal pneumonia. Intramuscular vaccination failed to induce local and systemic antibody responses detectable by elisa, but substantially reduced the clinical signs and lesions caused by challenge exposure to virulent M hyopneumoniae.

Comparison of the Immunogenicity of Hepatitis B Vaccine Administered Intradermally and Intramuscularly

Although hepatitis B vaccine reliably induces immunity to hepatitis B virus, the expense of intramuscular (im) vaccination with this product has limited its use. To determine if a smaller, less expensive, intradermal (id) dose of hepatitis B vaccine would be an effective alternative, we compared the response of antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs) following im vaccination to that following id vaccination. Volunteers who were seronegative for antibody to hepatitis B core antigen were enrolled in the study and received either im or id vaccine. A total of 108 subjects received three 1-mL im injections of hepatitis B vaccine, and another 110 subjects received four 0.1-mL id injections of the vaccine. Similar rates of seroconversion occurred; greater than or equal to 10 mIU of anti-HBs/mL was noted following either three im or three id vaccinations. Furthermore, 2 years after initiation of vaccination, the serum concentration of anti-HBs for id vaccine recipients was similar to that for im vaccine recipients.