Research/Improving production efficiency of coccidiosis vaccines using anti-oocyst antibodies
From Poultry Hub
Project Leader: Wayne Jorgensen at QDPI&F funded by Poultry CRC (Project 06-06)
Duration of Project: Now completed (1 July 2006 to 30 June 2007)
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Project overview
Purification of coccidiosis vaccine oocysts from large volumes of chicken faeces is currently achieved by a series of centrifugation steps that account for about 20% of total production costs. If magnetic bead technology previously used to capture Cryptosporodia and Toxoplasma oocysts can be adapted to the purification of Eimeria oocysts, there is potential to substantially reduce the cost of producing vaccines for the Australian poultry industry.
Live coccidiosis vaccines are now produced and marketed in Australia by Eimeria Pty Ltd. However, cost of production is directly related to the labour intensive production process.
Project objectives
- Refine and optimise methods for selectively purifying oocysts on magnetic beads using polyclonal antibodies;
- Develop an effective method for recovery of purified oocysts;
- Investigate the feasibility of scaling up the method for commercial application; and
- Conduct a cost/benefit analysis in conjunction with Eimeria Pty Ltd.
Project progress
This project has been completed, with results successfully transferred to industry. The final report is embargoed until the intellectual property developed under the project is protected. A new technique for the purification of oocysts is now being scaled-up for commercial vaccine production by Eimeria Pty Ltd. Contact the Poultry CRC for more information.
