Production and evaluation of rabbit IgG against IBDV in broiler chickens

Abstract

: Infectious bursal disease is an acute highly contagious disease affecting young chickens causing increased mortality and severe immunosuppression. Therefore, additional approaches together with vaccination are required to overcome its endemicity. Here, ten males Bosch rabbit of 3 months old (2-3 kg/ weight) were used for production of IgG against IBDV. The produced rabbit IgGs were titrated using Passive Hemagglutination (PHA) and evaluated experimentally for their protection against vvIBDV challenge in commercial broiler chickens. Daily observation of clinical signs, mortalities and postmortem changes were recorded till 10 days post-infection. The spleen and bursa were collected for histopathological examination and cloacal swabs were collected to evaluate viral shedding by real time-PCR. The results indicated the effectiveness of the anti-vvIBDV IgG in protection against vvIBDV and in the reduction of viral shedding. These results suggested that IgG produced in rabbits may help in IBDV control and decrease its commercial economic losses.