title: Veterinary vaccines: alternatives to antibiotics?
abstract: The prevention of infectious diseases of animals by vaccination has been routinely practiced for decades and has proved to be one of the most cost-effective methods of disease control. However, since the pioneering work of Pasteur in the 1880s, the composition of veterinary vaccines has changed very little from a conceptual perspective and this has, in turn, limited their application in areas such as the control of chronic infectious diseases. New technologies in the areas of vaccine formulation and delivery as well as our increased knowledge of disease pathogenesis and the host responses associated with protection from disease offer promising alternatives for vaccine formulation as well as targets for the prevention of bacterial disease. These new vaccines have the potential to lessen our reliance on antibiotics for disease control, but will only reach their full potential when used in combination with other intervention strategies.
authors.affiliation: Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO), University of Saskatchewan, 120 Veterinary Road, Saskatoon, SK S7N5E3, Canada. andrew.potter@usask.ca
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Potter
authors.forename: Volker
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gerdts
authors.forename: Sylvia van Drunen
authors.initials: Sv
authors.lastname: Littel-van den Hurk
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000662:veterinary*; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial / Q000662:veterinary; D003140:Communicable Disease Control / Q000379:methods*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests / Q000662:veterinary; D014611:Vaccination / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards / Q000662:veterinary*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines