USE OF POLY(DL-LACTIDE-CO-GLYCOLIDE) MICROPARTICLES AS ADJUVANTS IN ATLANTIC SALMON

• Main Authors: Allan Petrie, Tony Ellis, Christopher J. Secombes
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Atlantic salmon
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.536.2260; http://www-heb.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/congress/2000/Papers/diseasepdf/petrie.pdf

Vaccination of atlantic salmon in the Scottish salmon farming industry generally involves intraperitoneal injection of individual fish using vaccines containing oil adjuvants. This method is thought to confer good protection for considerable lengths of time. However, this method is labour intensive and causes a considerable amount of stress to the fish, since the fish have to be anaesthetized, handled, injected and returned to clean water to recover. The size of the fish also has to be considered since injecting fish weighing less than 15g is difficult. Other potential problems with injection immunisation are adhesion formation, the use of potentially toxic adjuvants, temporary reduced feeding, potential puncture of intestines and wound creation (Ellis, 1988). It is therefore desirable to use safer djuvants and also to develop immunisation strategies which are less stressful and labour intensive. Over the past thirty years in human medicine there has been an interest in the use of biodegradable polymers as adjuvants and vaccine delivery systems both for oral and non-oral routes (O’Hagan et al, 1993, Jones t al, 1996). One of the most thoroughly researched