Impact of maternally-derived antibodies against Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium on the bacterial load in suckling piglets.

The significance of maternal immunity against non-typhoid Salmonella spp. acquired by piglets via colostrum and milk was evaluated in a Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium challenge experiment. Piglets from sows vaccinated with an experimental inactivated vaccine exhibited high levels of serum immunoglobulins G and A against S.

Transfer of humoral and cell-mediated immunity via colostrum in pigs.

The first aim of our study was to obtain information on the transmission of antigen-specific antibodies from colostrum to respiratory tract mucosa in piglets. The second aim was to confirm the biological relevance of the presence of lymphocytes in colostrum and the already described fact that these cells can penetrate the intestinal barrier and "colonize" peripheral blood and lymphatic tissues of piglets. Therefore, we performed an experiment in which sows were immunized with a model antigen Keyhole Limpet Hemocyanin and their piglets were euthanized at different intervals after birth and colostrum intake.