Protection by attenuated and polyvalent vaccines against highly virulent strains of Marek's disease virus.

Tests confirmed that turkey herpesvirus (HVT) vaccine protected chickens poorly against challenge with the highly virulent Md5 strain of Marek's disease (MD) virus, especially in chickens with homologous HVT antibodies. The naturally avirulent SB-1 vaccine virus was likewise poorly protective against challenge with the Md5 strain. Homologous antibodies reduced the protective efficacy of both vaccines, but SB-1 was not affected by HVT antibodies. In order to provide better protection against strains of MD virus poorly protected against by HVT, such as Md5, the Md11 strain of MD virus was attenuated by 75 cell culture passages and evaluated for protective efficacy. This vaccine virus, designated Mdl 1/75C, provided good protection against challenge with Md5 and most other highly virulent MD viruses tested, but was less efficacious against challenge with the JM/102W strain, a prototype MD virus protected against well by HVT and SB-1 vaccines. Furthermore, its efficacy was consistently lower in chicks with HVT antibody. Thus, although HVT, SB-1, and Md11/75C were all efficacious against certain MD viruses, none of these vaccines protected optimally against all MD challenge viruses in all chickens. A polyvalent vaccine composed of Md11/75C, HVT and SB-1 viruses protected chickens better against a battery of five highly virulent MD challenge viruses, including three strains poorly protected against by HVT, than any single vaccine and was not influenced by HVT antibody. These data suggest that vaccinal immunity may be partially viral strain specific.