The overall goal of the project is to research and develop a vaccine for striped catfish to prevent purulent liver and kidney disease caused by Edwardsiella ictaluri and hemorrhagic disease caused by Aeromonas hydrophila using Bacillus subilis as vaccine delivery vector.
Main tasks of the project
Task 1: Confirming potential antigens from A. hydrophila and E. ictaluri that can be used for vaccine development
Task 2: Analysis of genomes, potential antigens, and toxin genes from bacteria that cause disease in striped catfish
Task 3: Develop a method to measure immune response in striped catfish
Task 4: Creating antigen-expressing B. subtilis strains to develop vaccines to prevent diseases caused by A. hydrophila
Task 5: Creating antigen-expressing B. subtilis strains to develop vaccines to prevent diseases caused by E. ictaluri
Task 6: Research on the immunogenicity of B. subtilis bacterial strains carrying distinct antigens
Task 7: Research the safety and protection rate of vaccines in the laboratory.
Project impact
Vietnam leads the world in striped catfish farming and export turnover reached 2.26 billion USD. Estimated market for striped catfish vaccine is 700 – 1400 billion VND/year. Important bacteria that cause disease in striped catfish include: A. hydrophila causing hemorrhagic disease and E. ictaluri causing purulent liver and kidney disease. The main solution to treat diseases in recent times has been the use of antibiotics, but the use of antibiotics in aquaculture in Vietnam has been banned since 2020. Vaccines are one of the important alternative solutions to disease prevention, but there is no effective vaccine on the market for diseases caused by A. hydrophila and E. ictaluri. The project hopes to create a vaccine that will contribute to maintaining the development of the striped catfish farming industry in Vietnam.
