Abstract:

Dose-dependent IgY antibody response to different amounts of orthopox virus (OPV) antigen has been studied in immunized chickens for two different OPV strains (vaccinia virus, 7.0×106 PFU and cowpox virus, 9.2×107PFU). The antibody responses to different immunizations were tested and compared by indirect immunofluorescence antibody test. Our results, together with the literature, show that the antigen dose used for immunization plays an important role for the production of specific Abs. An increase in antigen concentration may achieve higher Ab titers but, dependent on the immunogenicity of OPV antigen, it can also lead to an immune depression. However, in this study we found that OPV played a positive correlation between antigen concentration and Ab-titer.

Key words: IgY, IgY, Orthopox virus, Orthopox virus, Antigen dose, Antigen dose, Immune response, Immune response, ,