Antibody response and protective immunity of chickens vaccinated with booster dose of recombinant oil-adjuvanted Leucocytozoon caulleryi subunit vaccine.

Leucocytozoon caulleryi is an economically important poultry pathogen that causes subclinical to fatal disease in chickens. Because of limited preventive and treatment options against this disease, an oil-adjuvanted recombinant vaccine (O-rR7) targeting the R7 protein of L. caulleryi second-generation schizonts was developed. Different vaccination programs, namely, single vaccination at 45 days (0.1-ml dose), single vaccination at 130 days (0.25 ml), and initial vaccination at 45 days (0.1 ml) followed by a booster dose at 130 days (0.25 ml) were explored to compare the effects of single and booster vaccination on antibody response, duration of protective immunity, and degree of clinical signs after experimental L. caulleryi infection. Of the three treatments groups, initial vaccination at 45 days followed by a booster vaccination at 130 days of age resulted to rapid increase in antibody titers, which persisted for up to 182 days. Antibody titers reached peak values 35 days and 14 days after initial and booster vaccination, respectively. In comparison, single vaccination at 45 days of age resulted in production of antibodies above 1600 ELISA units for 56 days postvaccination, and single vaccination at 130 days of age produced peak antibody titers 35 days postvaccination, which remained above 1600 ELISA units for 126 days. Experimental infection of L. caulleryi at 256 days, when antibody titers had waned, did not result to severe clinical disease in chickens that received booster vaccination, whereas mild to severe disease was observed in chickens that received a single vaccination. Evaluation of immune response at 15 and 21 days postinfection showed that chickens that received booster vaccination had a twofold increase (P < 0.01) in antibody titers as compared to those receiving a single vaccination. Administering booster shots of O-rR7 is therefore recommended, especially in farms located in areas where Leucocytozoon is endemic.