VACCINE & SPF

Lileth L. Cancino BSFAS 4A

WHAT IS VACCINE?
Statement of the problem
VACCINE

Fish vaccines work by exposing the immune

system of fish to part of a pathogen or the entire
pathogen (antigen) and then allowing time for
the immune system to develop a response.
Vaccines also help fish build up a memory to
accelerate this response in later infections by
the targeted disease-causing organism.
• Vaccination is an easy, effective and preventive
method of protecting fish from diseases. Once fish
istimulated by vaccine, the antibody producing cells
called B lymphocytes, remain sensitized and ready to
respond to the agent should it ever gain entry to the
body.
Innate and Adaptive Acquired Immune System

Innate Acquired Immune System- is the only

defence weapon of invertebrates and a
fundamental defence mechanism of fish. The
innate system also plays an instructive role in
the acquired immune response and homeostasis
and is therefore equally important in higher
vertebrates.
Adaptive Acquired Immune System

• Like the innate immune system, the adaptive immune

system includes both humoral and cellular
components. B cells are key elements of the humoral
adaptive immune response. The main role of B cells
is to produce high affinity Ig against foreign antigen,
and to act as a pAPC to present processed antigen
to activate T cells.
TYPES OF VACCINE

Killed fish vaccines

Modified live vaccines.
Toxoids
Subunit Vaccine
Conjugate Vaccine
Recombinant vector vaccines
DNA vaccines
Killed fish vaccines

Killed fish vaccines are comprised of killed,

formerly pathogenic bacteria. Killed fish
vaccines work by stimulating the humoral
antibody-related system of the immune
response.
Modified live vaccines

Modified live vaccines are comprised of live

microorganisms that have been grown in
culture and no longer have the properties
that cause significant disease. Live
attenuated vaccines work by stimulating
both cell-mediated and humoral immune
responses.
Inactivate exotoxin or Toxoid

• Toxoids are vaccine which

consist of exotoxins that
have been inactivated,
either by heat or
chemicals. These vaccines
are intended to build
immunity against the
toxins.
Subunit vaccine

• Subunit vaccine are made

from a small portion of a
micro-organism that ideally
will stimulate an immune
response to the entire
organism
Ex. IPN Vaccine for Salmonid fish
Conjugate Vaccine

• Certain bacteria have

polysaccharide outer coats that
are poorly immunogenic. By
linking these outer coats to
protein, the immune system
can be led to recognized the
polysaccharide.
Recombinant vector vaccines

Recombinant vector vaccines

combine parts of disease-causing
microorganisms with those of
weakened microorganisms.
These vaccines work by allowing
a weak pathogen to produce
antigen of the disease-causing
microorganism.
DNA vaccines

DNA vaccines, which are

composed of a portion of the
genetic material of the
microorganism, work by
producing a particular immune-
stimulating portion of the
pathogen if they are expressed in
the fish, thus providing an internal
source of vaccine material. Other
vaccine strategies are also
undergoing research and
development.
TYPES OF VACCINE ADMIISTRATION

• Oral Vaccination
• Injection Vaccination
• Immersion Vaccination
Oral Vaccination

Oral vaccination results in direct delivery of

antigen via the digestive system of the fish. It is
the easiest method logistically because feeding
is a normal, ongoing part of the production
schedule. Stress on the fish is minimal, and no
major changes in production are required. Prior
to feeding, vaccine is mixed, top-dressed, or
bioencapsulated into the feed.
Injection vaccination

• Injection vaccination allows direct delivery of a small volume

of antigen into the muscle or into the body cavity, allowing
for more direct stimulation of a systemic immune response.
Injection vaccines normally include an oil-based or water-
based compound, known as an adjuvant, that serves to
further stimulate the immune system. Injection is effective for
many pathogens that cause systemic disease; and
protection—6 months to a year—is much longer than by
other methods.
Immersion vaccination

• Immersion vaccination permits immune cells located in the

fish's skin and gills to become directly exposed to antigens.
These immune cells may then mount a response (e.g.,
antibody production), thus protecting the fish from future
infection. Other types of immune cells in the skin and gills
carry antigens internally, where a more systemic response
will also develop. Immersion vaccination occurs by dip or by
bath. Dips are short, typically 30 seconds, in a high
concentration of vaccine.
Vaccine delivery

Vaccines are delivered to fish either by mouth,

immersion or injection. The most effective way to
deliver fish vaccine depends on the pathogen and its
natural route of infection, the life stage of the fish,
production techniques and other logistical
considerations. A specific route of administration or
even multiple routes may be necessary for adequate
protection.
Applications

Vaccines have been used in food fish, particularly salmon, for

approximately 30 years. They are believed to be one of the
main reasons that salmon production has been so successful.
Vaccination also dropped the industry’s use of antibiotics to a
mere fraction of its original use. In 1987, approximately 50,000
kg of antibiotics were used in Norway to control diseases in
salmon. By 1997, when an efficacious oil-adjuvant vaccine
was extensively used, antibiotic usage had dropped to less
than 2,000 kg, concurrent with a threefold increase in fish
production.
What is SPF?

SPF animals are special stock of animals that are kept in

specific pathogen free facilities under rigorous monitoring
system, which are subjected to sensitive and accurate
diagnostic methods. The animals are repeatedly bred under
controlled conditions to maintain their freedom from specific
pathogens and the SPF designation itself is tested on a
regular basis over an extended period of time. The SPF
animals are not innately resistant to the specified pathogens
or infections, although they can possibly be developed as
specific pathogen resistant (SPR) species. They are not
produced to provide either superior genetic stock or improved
culturing attributes such as fastergrowth.
SPF animals are special stock of animals that are kept in specific
pathogen free facilities under rigorous monitoring system, which are
subjected to sensitive and accurate diagnostic methods. The
animals are repeatedly bred under controlled conditions to maintain
their freedom from specific pathogens and the SPF designation itself
is tested on a regular basis over an extended period of time. The
SPF animals are not innately resistant to the specified pathogens or
infections, although they can possibly be developed as specific
pathogen resistant (SPR) species. They are not produced to provide
either superior genetic stock or improved culturing attributes such as
faster‐growth.
However, these characteristics can be incorporated into SPF
stock to increase their commercial value. The SPF status of
stock animals is lost once the animals are removed from the
designated facility even if the animals are not infected or
develop any other disease symptoms. The SPF animals may
be referred to as “high health” stock once they are transferred
to other wellestablished unit with history of disease
surveillance.
Duration of SPF?

SPF status will be lost once animals are removed from

the high biosecure facility, where it is confined for the
SPF designation. The SPF status is not heritably
passed from parent to offspring
What are the advantages?

SPF animals offer an advantage to a country

introducing a species for the first time as it offers some
assurance that the imported animals will not introduce
the listed pathogens to native species. However, SPF
stocks may harbor other (non‐specified) pathogens,
and this should be taken into an account as it can
pose a risk when the animals are under stress.
SPF animals are extremely useful for basic and
applied science research especially to immunological
studies and vaccine trials since the listed interfering
pathogens can be ruled out. The SPF animals are also
essential for other bioassay; for instance a study of
shrimp viral diseases, where the shrimp cell line is not
available, the pathogen free animals are certainly
needed for bioassay study.
Are there any risks?

The major concern of SPF stock is the potential problems caused by

inbreeding. SPF development is reliant on inbreeding of animals to
maintain consistent production. Such a production system inevitably
faces the problem of genetic deterioration. This may pose problems such
as reduction in disease tolerance, growth characteristics, and other
developmental abnormalities of stock animals.

Lacking natural immunity could be another risk to be considered. As the

SPF animals are cultured under hygienic condition with minimal contact
to normal micro flora, their acquired immunity is rather low. Thus, SPF
stock may not perform well under non‐biosecure or outdoor open culture
operations.
SPF animals are only free from tested specific pathogens,
however the hidden/unknown pathogen are usually
overlooked. Mutation of specific pathogens commonly occurs
especially in viral diseases. This means that although the
monitoring program is active, the pathogenic agent may be
missed out. This hidden risk can consequently pose a threat to
the health status of the animal.
With regard to shrimp culture, biosecurity systems are
adopted to overcome a threat of disease outbreaks.
The main concepts of biosecurity systems are to
exclude pathogens and aid eradication if they occur.
SPF stock is one of the major components considered
in any biosecurity system, since the specific pathogen
can be eliminated and contamination minimized.
SPF for which pathogens?

The specific list of pathogens the SPF stock are free from
varies between suppliers. Principally, those pathogens must
be a significant threat to the industry and possibly to
international trade. All the OIE listed pathogens are normally
considered. The pathogens affecting any life cycle stage of
animal should be included. These pathogens must be
detectable with reliable diagnostic methods that can evaluate
the animal health status. Moreover, they must be physically
excluded from theanimal culture facility.
Specific Pathogen Resistant (SPR)

It describes a genetic trait of a shrimp that confers

some resistance against one specific pathogen.
SPR shrimp usually result from a specific breeding
programme designed to increase resistance to a
particular virus.
Specific Pathogen Tolerant (SPT)

• Stocks that are susceptible to infection by a specific pathogens but do not

develop clear signs of disease or they do to a lesser extent.

• They can tolerate the disease expression depending on the pathogen strain
and environmental conditions

• Does not refer to health status (may be infected with a pathogen they are
tolerant to or another)

• Most Latin American stocks can be considered SPT to endemic pathogens

(NOT SPR)