Analysis of the antibody titre in sows vaccinated against classical swine fever at four gestation ages

The immune response acquired by vaccination against classical swine fever (CSF) in sows at four gestational ages (70, 75, 80 and 90 days) was evaluated using the Pest-Vac (R) vaccine (Pfizer). Blood samples were taken 24 hours before vaccination and 72 hours after parturition. The level of antibodies was determined by blocking ELISA. No significant difference was found between the antibody titres generated by the vaccination according to gestational age nor between the pre-vaccination and post-partum samples. However, the effect of the number of parturitions, used as a covariate, presented a significant difference (p<0.05) in the antibody titres against PPC.