Evaluation and improvement of Streptococcus suis bacterins

Swine production is a major branch of Canadian economy. Bugs, such as bacteria, can kill small piglets or compromise their welfare, and have a major impact in swine industry performance. One well-known dangerous bacterium is Streptococcus suis, which is very difficult to control because lack of effective vaccines. Consequently, antibiotics are overused to fight this important disease with consequent increase in antibiotic resistance (i.e. the antibiotics are not anymore able to kill bacteria). It is thus important to improve control strategies, such as vaccination, to reduce the use of antibiotics and improve animal welfare. Vaccination helps to protect animals against virulent microbes, such as Streptococcus suis, by activating the immune system to combat them. Vaccines are made with the whole bacterium (or its parts) and mixed with a substance called “adjuvant” which acts as booster agent of the immune system. This project will help design the best “adjuvant” to be used in Streptococcus suis vaccination and thus improve its effectiveness.

Faculty Supervisor:

Mariela Segura;Marcelo Gottschalk

Student:

Alison Jeffery

Partner:

Ontario Pork

Discipline:

Biology

Sector:

Agriculture

University:

Université de Montréal