[Escherichia coli R live vaccine Suicolplex "Dessau"]

Immunisation of pregnant sows prior to parturition has long proved to be a good method to forestall coli dysentery in piglets before weaning. Inactivated vaccines of the pathogenetically important E. coli serogroups with and without adjuvant so far were primarily used at international level. A vaccine of that kind has become available in the GDR more than eight years ago. Its name is Coliporc "Dessau". A live vaccine has been developed from two R-mutants at the authors' institute. The effectiveness of that live vaccine on laboratory animals and in field experiments is reported in this paper together with possibilities of differential diagnosis to distinguish wild strains from the mutants. The live vaccine was commercially registered under the name of Suicolpex "Dessau", in spring 1976.