Immunogenicity of Escherica coli rough mutant bacterin in chicken

Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) cause a wide range of economically significant infections in chickens. Control of these infections by antimicrobial drug is no longer possible due to high prevalence of multidrug resistance strains. Involvement of large number of serotypes in these infections left none serotype specific vaccine as the only option. It has been well established that the Lipopolysaccharide (LP) core specific antibodies are broadly cross protective.

Present study determined the LPS core specific antibody titers of chickens immunized with a single dose of heat killed rough mutant E. coli strains comprising of LPS core types R1, R2, R3 and R4. Mean anti-LPS core antibody titres for all four core types increased significantly (p<0.05) in immunized group than in control group. Thus, the heat killed mixture of rough mutant E. coli strains can be used as a vaccine to enhance LPS core specific antibodies in chickens.