Haemagglutination inhibition antibody titres in chickens vaccinated with infectious bronchitis virus vaccines

Studies with a bivalent infectious bronchitis killed virus vaccine

Haemagglutination inhibition and virus neutralisation antibody responses of chickens given different vaccination programmes were compared. This was followed by a further experiment in which variously vaccinated laying hens were challenged at 30 weeks of age with two strains of infectious bronchitis virus of the "variant" Dutch D207 serotype. Chickens were given primary vaccinations to different strains of infectious bronchitis live virus during rearing and then injected at 16 weeks of age with inactivated oil adjuvanted virus vaccines prepared from either M41, GV101 or both viruses combined (bivalent vaccine). Antibody titres to M41 infectious bronchitis virus were high, and to D207 serotype low. in birds given Mass type vaccines only. In birds given an initial 'priming' with Mass type live vaccine and then 'boosted' with bivalent killed vaccine, high haemagglutination inhibition and virus neutralisation antibody levels against both the M41 and D207 serotypes of infectious bronchitis virus were stimulated. In another experiment, the ability of laying hens vaccinated according to this programme, to withstand challenge with two strains of virulent infectious bronchitis virus of the D207 serotype, was tested. Protection of egg production in vaccinated hens was found to be good and in all groups correlated with the individual hen haemagglutination inhibition titre at the time of challenge. The significance of these results with regard to the use of killed virus vaccines in laying hens and to the necessity to develop live virus vaccines from 'variant' strains of infectious bronchitis virus is discussed.

Some field observations on the antibody response to avian infectious bronchitis on Auckland layer farms

Layer flocks on four Auckland poultry farms were monitored monthly for Infectious Bronchitis (IB) antibody levels, using the haemagglutination inhibition test. The same birds were bled each month and antibody levels compared with egg production. The results showed that IB vaccination at 4(1/2) and 14(1/2) weeks using the live, attenuated, New Zealand A strain virus, protected layers from IB infection on a farm with good management techniques but vaccination on another commercial farm gave less then ideal protection due possibly to intercurrent disease. Also antibody levels in naturally infected layers responded more vigorously when exposed to the field strain, compared with the response in vaccinated birds.

Strain specific antibodies revealed by immunoabsorption studies with avian infectious bronchitis virus

Rabbit antisera prepared against the Massachusetts 41 (M41) strain of avian infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) and absorbed with chick embryo immunoabsorbent produced multiple precipitin lines in immunodouble-diffusion (IDD) tests with homologous or heterologous strains of virus. These precipitin lines were all removed by absorption with concentrated M41 virus preparations, but repeated absorption with concentrated, purified preparations of IBV strains: T, Holte, Connecticut, Beaudette or H120 failed to remove all precipitin lines produced to M41 virus, although all those to the heterologous viruses were removed. The remaining line(s) produced with M41 virus by sera absorbed with different heterologous viruses showed identity in IDD tests and was associated with the surface projections of the virus.