Immunogenicity of a newly developed vaccine against Clostridium perfringens alpha-toxin in rabbits and cattle

Abstract

Background and Aim: Clostridium perfringens type A is an anaerobic bacterium that produces four major toxins (alpha, beta, epsilon, and iota) that cause various diseases. Most of the important C. perfringens-associated diseases of farm animals are caused by alpha-toxin. This study aimed to produce a vaccine against alpha-toxin using C. perfringens type A (ATCC 13124) and investigate its potency, stability, and safety. Materials and Methods: The vaccine was formulated of its constituents for 1 h. Each milliliter of the final vaccine product contained alpha toxoid 15 lecithovitellinase activity (Lv) by adding (0.375 mL containing 40 Lv) and approximately 0.2 mL from 3% concentrated aluminum hydroxide gel, 0.05). Conclusion: This study describes a manufacturing process to obtain sufficient amounts of a vaccine against C. perfringens alpha-toxin. The formulated vaccine effectively elicited a higher level of neutralizing antibody response than the international standards. Furthermore, the vaccine was found to be stable, safe, and effective in preventing C. perfringens-related diseases in rabbits and cattle. Further studies are necessary to evaluate the efficacy of this vaccine in other farm animals.

Keywords

• alpha-toxin
• clostridium perfringens a
• potency
• safety
• stability
• toxoid