Immunotherapy with avian IgY in experimentally infected mice

Trypanosoma evansi is a flagellated protozoan that affects cattle, sheep, goats, asses, cats and pigs. The disease is particularly important in horses and is known as "chair sickness" due to the characteristic locomotion deficits in infected animals. Various therapeutic drugs have been recommended for prophylaxis and control of the protozoan, but over the years these drugs have lost their efficacy and the protozoan seems to develop resistance. The production and use of avian antibodies has aroused great interest in the scientific community due to the diversity of diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Due to their phylogenetic distance, immune diversification mechanisms and the ability to transfer serum immunoglobulins to egg yolk, a number of advantages are now recognised when using avian antibodies instead of mammalian antibodies. In this study, a specific immunoglobulin against T. evansi was produced by immunising chickens using an isolate of the protozoan. Therapeutic efficacy was tested in Rattus norvegicus.