Improved Piglet Performance and Reduced Mortality and Antimicrobial use Following Oral Vaccination with a Live Non-Pathogenic Escherichia coli F4/F18 Vaccine Against Post-Weaning Diarrhoea

Background: Post-Weaning Diarrhoea (PWD) in pigs is a worldwide economically important disease, which is frequently controlled using antimicrobials. However, emergence of antimicrobial resistance in E. coli strains and new EU regulations urge the need for alternative control measures, such as adapted feeding strategies or immunization. Oral vaccination of suckling piglets using a live non-pathogenic E. coli F4/F18 vaccine was performed in 10 farrow-to-finish sow farms to prevent against post-weaning diarrhoea due to F4-Enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) or F18-ETEC. The vaccination strategy was compared to the standard therapeutic approach in each farm, meanwhile collecting data on Average Daily Weight Gain (ADWG), Feed Conversion Rate (FCR), mortality rate and treatment incidence with antimicrobial drugs (TI100) during the post-weaning period. Results: Vaccine-treated groups demonstrated a significant improvement in FCR, mortality rate and TI100 as compared to the Control group. The ADWG only marginally and non-significantly improved in the Vaccine-treated group. Conclusions: In conclusion, the present study demonstrated the efficacy of an oral live non-pathogenic E. coli F4/F18 vaccine (Coliprotec® F4/F8; Elanco Animal Health) for active immunization of piglets against PWD due to F4-ETEC and F18-ETEC under field conditions. For several economically important performance parameters, such as FCR, mortality rate and TI100, E. coli vaccination performed significantly better as compared to the standard therapeutic approach. Therefore, vaccination against PWD due to F4-ETEC or F18-ETEC using an oral live non-pathogenic E. coli F4/F18 vaccinated may be considered a good alternative to consolidate post-weaning piglet performance results while meeting the new European requirements concerning prudent use of antimicrobials in intensive pig production.