Vaccination of fish against infectious diseases in aquaculture

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[...] Vaccines in Aquaculture The first vaccines against infectious bacterial diseases in farmed fish were developed in the 1970's, and introduced into commercial aquaculture in the early 1980's.(9) There are more than 50 diseases that can infect fish and shellfish that are cultured in the United States, causing losses of tens of millions of dollars annually.(6) Vaccines can be administered by injection (intramuscular or intraperitoneally), by immersion in a vaccine bath for anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes, or by incorporation into the feed (top dressing or incorporation into a feed ingredient). [...]

[...] of Canada (an affiliate of the Swiss-based company Novartis Animal Health), received approval from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to sell its product, APEX-IHN, a DNA vaccine to protect farm-raised salmon against Infectious Haematopoietic Necrosis Virus (IHNV).(8) The following table lists all of the vaccines that have been approved by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for use in aquaculture, which species of fish these vaccines are used in and which diseases they prevent. Table 1.1 USDA-Licensed Vaccines for Farmed Fish Product Name/Trade Name Licenses/ Species Disease Permitee Aeromonas Salmonicida BioMed, Salmonids Furunculosis Aeromonas BioMed, Salmonids Furunculosis, Salmonicida-Vibrio Inc. [...]

[...] Table 1.2 Advantages and Disadvantages of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) vaccines(9) Advantages Disadvantages/Current Problems Generic and simple principle Difficulty/cost of delivery; need for new strategies for mass vaccination of small fish High level of safety no risk of Not efficient for all pathogens infectious disease Combination of advantages of New concept long-term safety traditional killed and attenuated issues remain to be analysed vaccines Can be successful when traditional Official distinction between vaccine strategies fail DNA-vaccinated animals and genetically modified organism(GMO)s not always clear Possibility of incorporating Official distinction between molecular adjuvants such as CpG DNA-vaccinated animals and motifs genetically modified organism(GMO)s not always clear Activation of both humoral and No regulatory precedents yet cellular mechanisms * available for DNA vaccines for husbandry animals Multivalent vaccination possible Possible complications of by simple mixing of DNA vaccines * intellectual property rights affecting commercialisation of veterinary DNA vaccines Good effect when given at an early life stage * Protection induced shortly after vaccination and is also long lasting * Protection induced at both low and high temperatures * Protection efficient across serotype variations * Ability to prepare vaccines for new pathogen variants quickly at low cost High stability of purified product Relatively low cost; easy production/quality assurance *Specifically demonstrated in the case of DNA vaccines for fish New Vaccines on the Horizon Agricultural Research Service scientists at Auburn, Alabama are in the process of developing a new vaccine that will protect fish against the bacterium Streptococcus iniae. [...]

[...] The biggest advantage is that you are limiting the spread of infectious diseases which can devastate fish farms and cost producers millions of dollars every year. This will then lead to more predictable production outputs for the farmers. Another advantage of vaccines is that you drastically decrease the amount of antibiotics used in the industry as a whole. Vaccines are natural biological materials that leave no residues for the consumer. Antibiotics on the other hand, can leave residues in the fish, which is a hazard for allergies and can lead to the development of resistant strains of pathogens. [...]