Preparation and evaluation of goose reovirus inactivated vaccine

BACKGROUND: Infection with Goose Reovirus (GRV) can cause serious economic losses in the goose breeding industry. In this study, the GRV allantoic fluid was concentrated and used as an antigen in a formalin-inactivated oil-emulsion vaccine. RESULTS: When 6 day-old geese were inoculated, antibodies against GRV became detectable at 6 days post-vaccination, their concentration peaked at 3 weeks. These antibodies were maintained for longer than 2 weeks. As the most susceptible age for GRV infection is birds under 2 weeks of age this vaccine should provide adequate cover for the most at risk birds. When geese were exposed to reovirus at different time intervals after immunization, the data revealed that the vaccine can provide a protection rate of 80%. The developed vaccine has good stability and could be stored at 4 °C for at least 12 months. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that the developed GRV vaccine is safe, effectively absorbed, efficacious in inducing a rapid immune response, and effective in controlling GRV infection. Our results should be useful for the application of vaccines for controlling GRV in different goose flocks. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12917-017-1134-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.