💡 Fish oral vaccines have increased in both use and availability in recent years, but their efficacy on a fish’s immune system is under studied. Before reaching the immunological site, gastric acids and enzymes degrade the effectiveness of oral vaccinations.
📌 Research Highlights:
▶ One attempt at solving the problem of
degradation is to encapsulate the antigens in poly-biodegradable
nanoparticles, transgenic bacteria, plant systems, and live feeds.
▶
Nanotechnology has made it possible to regulate vaccination parameters,
target specific cells, and actually lower the antigen dose using
chitosan and poly D, L-lactic-co-glycolic acid as vaccine carriers.
▶
Given their small size and non-filter feed system, Artemia salina, a
species of brine shrimp, is a viable candidate for being a bio-carrier
through bio-encapsulation. Bio-encapsulation envelopes tissues or other
biological active substances in a semipermeable membrane to protect the
enclosed biological structures from hazardous processes.
🎯 In aquaculture, oral vaccination can be delivered either by coating the feed in antigens or through bio-encapsulation. Despite the advantages of orally administering vaccines, there are still limited numbers of licensed oral vaccinations due to the lack of the immune response when compared to injectable vaccines.
📷 Image: The systemic design process of an oral vaccine bio-encapsulated inside brine shrimp.
Oral Vaccination in Aquaculture