Promising new vaccine candidates against Campylobacter in broilers

Area of Science:

• Veterinary immunology
• Food safety
• Microbial pathogenesis

Background:

• Campylobacter is the primary cause of bacterial gastroenteritis in the European Union.
• Poultry are the main reservoir for Campylobacter, leading to human infections through meat consumption.
• Reducing Campylobacter in poultry is crucial for public health, with vaccination being a key strategy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the in vivo immune and protective potential of six novel vaccine candidates against Campylobacter in poultry.
• To identify effective vaccine antigens for reducing Campylobacter colonization in broiler chickens.

Main Methods:

• Reverse vaccinology approach to identify potential vaccine antigens.
• In vivo assessment of four selected vaccine candidates in Ross broiler chickens.
• Measurement of Campylobacter loads in ceca and evaluation of humoral immune response.

Main Results:

• Four vaccine candidates (YP_001000437.1, YP_001000562.1, YP_999817.1, and YP_999838.1) significantly reduced cecal Campylobacter loads (2–4.2 log10 CFU/g).
• A specific humoral immune response was observed concurrently with reduced bacterial loads in the first trial.
• In a second trial, while a strong immune response was induced, the reduction in cecal loads was not statistically significant.

Conclusions:

• The identified vaccine candidates demonstrate promising features for controlling Campylobacter in poultry.
• Further investigation is warranted to optimize these candidates for a commercially viable and effective poultry vaccine.
• Successful poultry vaccination could significantly decrease the incidence of human campylobacteriosis.