SIV Vaccine

Novartis Animal Health US, Inc. debuts PneumoSTAR SIV killed vaccine for use in healthy seronegative swine to aid in the prevention of disease caused by swine influenza virus (SIV) subtypes H1N1 and H3N2 for seven weeks post-vaccination. PneumoSTAR SIV is proven to provide broad cross-reactivity among various SIV strains, offering more effective immunity, the company says. In recent tests, animals vaccinated with PneumoSTAR SIV consistently outperformed unvaccinated controls. For this experiment, test pigs were vaccinated with a 1-mL dose of PneumoSTAR SIV, while a control group was not vaccinated. At seven weeks post-vaccination, vaccinates and controls were challenged with a heterologous H1N1 SIV strain or a heterologous H3N2 SIV strain. Five days post-challenge, percent lung damage was determined. Controls challenged with H1N1 had 21.4-percent of lungs damaged with lesions vs. 4.4 percent for vaccinates. Similarly, controls challenged with H3N2 had 31.7-percent of lungs damaged with lesions while vaccinates had 5.0-percent damage. PneumoSTAR SIV is available in 100- and 250-dose bottles and is labeled for intramuscular-only administration, with a 1-mL dose at three weeks of age or older.

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