Immunogenicity of an inactivated vaccine against senecavirus a and duration of the immune response in pigs.

Abstract

Senecavirus A (SVA) infection causes vesicular disease in pigs, resulting in significant economic losses for swine producers and trade restrictions on pork exports. Due to its clinical similarity to other vesicular diseases, implementing control measures, such as vaccination, is essential to mitigate the impact of the disease. In this study, we assessed the immunogenicity of an inactivated SVA vaccine derived from a representative strain circulating in Brazil and the duration of vaccine-induced immunity in swine. Vaccinated 6- to 8-week-old pigs exhibited a robust humoral response, evidenced by significant increases in SVA-specific IgG and virus-neutralizing antibody titers. These humoral responses were detectable as early as seven days after primary vaccination and persisted for at least 11 weeks. Regarding cellular immunity, vaccinated pigs exhibited significantly higher proliferation of B lymphocyte subpopulations (CD19CD79α) and T lymphocyte subpopulations (CD3eCD4, CD3eCD8α, CD3eCD8αCD25, CD3eCD4CD8α), compared to controls (p ≤ 0.05) in splenocytes collected in the fifth-week post-vaccination. A significant increase in T lymphocyte proliferation (CD3eCD4, CD3eCD8α, CD3eCD8αCD25, CD8αCD27) was also observed in splenocytes collected in the eleventh-week post-vaccination. These findings demonstrate that the inactivated SVA vaccine induces a robust and long-lasting humoral and cellular immune response, extending through the market age of slaughter (~ 130 days) and potentially contributing to the effective control of SVA infections in swine herds.