Veterinary Protozoal and Rickettsial Vaccine Development

Vector-borne diseases can be caused by protozoal and rickettsial pathogens, resulting in extremely high morbidity and mortality in animals, with tick-borne diseases accounting for a large proportion of these. Numerous control measures have been adopted to minimize the high economic losses caused by protozoal and rickettsial diseases. As vaccination is one of the most effective and sustainable solutions, BioVenic provides you with the development of animal protozoa and rickettsial vaccines to help researchers to develop veterinary vaccines to fight against animal protozoal and rickettsial attacks.

Transmission-Blocking Vaccine Development

For vector-borne diseases mostly caused by protozoal and rickettsial pathogens, the main control methods have relied on insecticide treatment of houses, reduction of breeding sites, and limitation of vector-host-animal contact. Still, the increase in insecticide resistance and the spread of vectors to new areas have led to the development of vaccines that prevent pathogens from completing their life cycle in the vector. The purpose of transmission-blocking vaccines is to prevent new infections from occurring in vectors that are capable of transmission. BioVenic provides professional services for screening, identifying, and characterizing protective antigens necessary for transmission-blocking vaccines, and provides recombinant protein expression systems to assist in their subsequent development process.

Fig.1 Representation of the principal mechanisms of transmission-blocking vaccines.¹

Infection and Treatment Method (ITM) Vaccine Development

Infection and treatment method (ITM) vaccine consists of a simultaneous injection of a dose of live parasites and an antibiotic (e.g. hygromycin) to control veterinary protozoal and rickettsial diseases. Vaccine development involves the use of parasite-free experimental animals, such as cattle, rabbits, and protozoa- and rickettsia-carrying vectors, such as ticks, that are regularly monitored throughout the production process. BioVenic provides the laboratory animals required for the development of ITM vaccines and utilizes molecular and serological tests to ensure that none of the animals used are contaminated with exogenous pathogens.

Veterinary Protozoal and Rickettsial Vaccine Development Platforms

Protozoa and rickettsia that infect animals have complex life cycles, existing common veterinary protozoal and rickettsial vaccines are still mainly live attenuated vaccines. In recent years, the development of subunit vaccines and DNA vaccines has also begun to become more common, and BioVenic provides technology platforms for the development of the above types of vaccines. Please find more detailed information for our vaccine development platforms with the following links.

• Live Attenuated Veterinary Vaccine Development
• Recombinant Protein Subunit Veterinary Vaccine Development
• DNA Veterinary Vaccine Development

Veterinary Protozoal and Rickettsial Vaccine Development Services

The use of live attenuated vaccines may have a certain degree of impact on the overall health of the animals themselves. BioVenic offers both in vivo and in vitro safety assessments by conducting tests to monitor the post-immunization health status of the animals to determine whether your vaccine samples may lead to adverse reactions.

To mitigate or alleviate the pathophysiological impacts of the infection, if you choose subunit vaccines or nucleic acid vaccines for the development of protozoal and rickettsial vaccines, considering the decrease in immunogenicity, BioVenic provides formulation development services. We offer options for adjuvant combinations, coupled with immunogenicity assessments, to ensure that your vaccine samples can achieve the desired immunological efficacy.

• In Vitro Assays
• In Vivo Assays
• Formulation Development

Applications of Veterinary Protozoal and Rickettsial Vaccines

Veterinary protozoal and rickettsial vaccines have been developed to provide a way to prevent and control protozoal and rickettsial diseases, both in terms of pathogens and vectors, which are expected to reduce the risk of disease in the host animal. Such vaccines can be widely used in livestock and companion animals to provide robust immune protection for animals.

Our Advantages

Veterinary vaccines are considered one of the most effective, economical, and sustainable methods for the prevention and control of protozoal and rickettsial animal diseases. BioVenic offers veterinary protozoal and rickettsial vaccine development services to combat such challenging microorganisms for livestock, poultry, companion animals, aquaculture species and more. With a deep understanding of the complex life cycle and extensive project experience, if you contact us now, we will provide you with a satisfactory solution!

Reference

1. Londono-Renteria, Berlin, et al. "Arbovirosis and potential transmission blocking vaccines." Parasites & vectors 9.1 (2016): 1-11.