Development and evaluation of montanide-Adjuvanted vaccines for the protection of chickens against inclusion body hepatitis-Hydropericardium syndrome

Protective parameters of embryonated egg adapted,montanide-adjuvanted,inclusion body hepatitishydropericardium syndrome (ibh-hps),formalin inactivated,and commercial oil-based vaccines,were recorded and analyzed in the present study. efficacy of the vaccines was tested on the basis of humoral and cell-mediated immune responses,challenge protection against ibh-hps agent,mean body weight,and organ to body weight ratios. indirect heamagglutination iha antibody titer in terms of geometric mean titre gmt in the group vaccinated with montanideadjuvanted ibh-hps vaccine (group c) was significantly higher than the groups vaccinated with formalin-inactivated vaccine (group a) and commercial-oil based vaccine (group b),followed by unvaccinated challenged (group d) and unvaccinated unchallenged control (group e). responsiveness to a mitogenic lectin,phytoheamagglutinin-p was significantly reduced in group a as compared to group b,followed by group c. immunization with montanideadjuvanted (ibh-hps) vaccine conferred protection in 95% of the chickens as evidenced by the absence of clinical signs,hydropericardium,and mortality,followed by the group vaccinated with commercial oil based and formalininactivated ibh-hps vaccines. there was reduction in mean body weight and organ to body weight ratios of the bursa of fabricius bf,spleen,and liver recorded in group a as compared to groups b and c. the results revealed that administration of montanide-adjunvanted ibh-hps vaccine could protect chickens more efficiently from ibh-hpsv challenge as compared to formalin-inactivated and commercial oil-based vaccines. © 2012 zoological society of pakistan.