Efficacy of two commercial ready-to-use PCV2 and mycoplasma hyopneumoniae vaccines under field conditions

Abstract

Porcine Circovirus Type 2 (PCV2) and Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae are economically important pathogens in swine farms. Vaccination is the main preventive measure for both infections. In order to test two ready-to-use bivalent vaccines, 646 piglets from a herd actively infected with both pathogens were stratified according to the sow parity number and randomly assigned to three groups: A and B were vaccinated with two different vaccines, respectively, while C remained as the unvaccinated control. Vaccine efficacy was assessed based on the weight, average daily weight gai (ADWG), degree of lung lesions, presence of PCV2 viremia by qPCR and presence of PCV2 and M. hyopneumoniae antibody levels by ELISA. Our data revealed that the sow parity did not influence the vaccine outcomes. Good results for most of the analyzed parameters were observed in both vaccinated groups. ADGW and final weight were higher and lung lesions were less evident in both vaccinated groups than in the control one, but only Group A showed a significant improvement. PCV2 viremia was not detected in Group A, but it did appear in Group B coinciding with its peak in Group C. Finally, both the PCV2 and M. hyopneumoniae serological patterns differed depending on the employed vaccine