Recent advances in the use of DNA vaccines for the treatment of diseases of farmed animals

DNA-based vaccination constitutes one of the most recent approaches to vacc ine development. This technology is in principle one of the most simple and yet versatile methods of inducing both humoral and cellular immune respons es, as well as protection against a variety of infectious agents. However, although immune responses have been induced in a number of larger species, most information on the efficacy of DNA immunization has been generated in mice. In this review the information available to date about the use of DNA vaccines in farmed animals, including cattle, pigs and poultry, is present ed. The areas that need specific attention in the future to bring this tech nology to the market are discussed, including the issues concerning deliver y, safety, compatibility of plasmids in multivalent vaccines and the potent ial of using immune stimulants as part of a DNA vaccine. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.