Effect of sow mass vaccination against Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae on the humoral immune response of newborn piglets

Pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma (M.) hyopneumoniae is one of the major respiratory diseases in swine production. Commercial vaccines for M. hyopneumoniae are widely used in weaned piglets to reduce lung lesions and clinical signs in the downstream flow; however, no information regarding the effect of mass immunization of the breeding herd is available. The aim of this work was to evaluate a mass vaccination protocol for M. hyopneumoniae on the humoral response of sows and their offspring 24 h post-partum (trial registration number 40156). A total of 52 sows from two different farms (13 primiparous and 13 multiparous sows on each farm), one with mass vaccination (MVF) and one without mass vaccination against M. hyopneumoniae (control farm (CF)) were enrolled in this study. Five piglets from each litter were selected, resulting in 260 piglets. Blood was collected from sows and piglets 24 h post-partum for M. hyopneumoniae antibody detection by ELISA. The results showed that primiparous sows from MVF had higher antibody titers compared to multiparous sows of the same farm, and multiparous and primiparous sows from the CF. Similar results were evidenced in their offspring. The findings of this study suggest that mass vaccination results in a more robust serologic response on primiparous sows, which could be the main target of vaccination strategies for the breeding herd.