[Colibacillosis in swine: proof of vaccine efficacy]

The damage caused in the economy and animal sanity by the porcine colibacilosis are significant and they deserve the investigation of preventive measures that give answers to the producers. Existing at the present time approximately 21,000 pigs in Corrientes and 110,000 in Chaco provinces of Argentine, the losses for diarrhea that exterminate whole litters, acquire relevance, specially if they can be prevented or cured. For that reason, having 21 strains of enteropathogenic and verocitotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC/VTEC) isolated from pigs of the North East of Argentine, that were recognized by PCR, two were selected, containing the genes for STIa, STIb, LTI, VT2e (SLT-IIv) and F4 (K88). They were spread on nutrient agar and Minca medium, to obtain the suspension in PBS, which was inactivated with formol. After the sterility and innocuity controls, it was diluted to a 12 x 10(8) concentration to make the mouse protection test in 20 mice, of 18-20 g, inoculating the vaccine the days 1, 4, 7 and 10, by the intraperitoneal route, doses of 0.25 ml each one. The day 21 after beginning the test the animals were challenged with 50 LD50, and a protection of 85% was obtained. To determine the LD50, we prepared a suspension in physiologic solution, corresponding to Mac Farland's tube No 10, making dilutions from 10(-1) to 10(-5) and applying the statistical method of Reed and Muench. These first results encourage us to continue working after a prophylactic measure that were effective, potent and elaborated with strains of this area.