The Swine Erysipelas Vaccine SER-ME Effectively Protects Pigs against Challenge with the Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae M203/I257 SpaA-Type Variant

Misako Morimoto; Atsushi Kato; Kotoe Nogami; Yuta Akaike; Takaaki Furusawa; Hiroe Kojima; Chihiro Sasakawa

doi:10.3390/vetsci9080382

The Swine Erysipelas Vaccine SER-ME Effectively Protects Pigs against Challenge with the Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae M203/I257 SpaA-Type Variant

Vet Sci. 2022 Jul 26;9(8):382. doi: 10.3390/vetsci9080382.

Authors

Misako Morimoto¹, Atsushi Kato^{1

2}, Kotoe Nogami¹, Yuta Akaike¹, Takaaki Furusawa¹, Hiroe Kojima¹, Chihiro Sasakawa^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Nippon Institute for Biological Science, 9-2221-1 Shin-machi, Ome 198-0024, Tokyo, Japan.
² Biomedical Science Association, 2-20-8-3F Kamiosaki, Shinagawa-ku 141-0021, Tokyo, Japan.
³ Medical Mycology Research Center, Chiba University, 1-8-1 Inohana, Chiba 260-8673, Chiba, Japan.

Abstract

Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae causes swine erysipelas (SE). Sporadic SE outbreaks in Japan are mostly caused by the E. rhusiopathiae serovar 1a variant featured by methionine (M) and isoleucine (I) at amino acid positions 203 and 257 of the surface protective antigen (Spa) A protein (M203/I257 SpaA-type). To determine if current vaccines are effective against infection with this variant in pigs, one representative inactivated vaccine, SER-ME (containing E. rhusiopathiae serovar 2a), was evaluated. All vaccinated pigs survived without any apparent clinical signs after lethal challenge with the Fujisawa reference strain or the variant. This indicates that the SER-ME vaccine effectively protects pigs against the infection of E. rhusiopathiae M203/I257 SpaA-type variant. Current vaccines in Japan, including SER-ME, suggest that outbreaks in Japan are unlikely caused by vaccine failure.

Keywords: Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae; SpaA; swine erysipelas; vaccine efficacy; variant.

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.