Direct comparison of commercial porcine circovirus type 2 vaccines under field conditions

Two experiments were done to directly compare the effects of commercially available porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) vaccines on growth mortality rate of pigs under field condition in a farm with a history of porcine circovirus disease. In Exp. 1 a total of 1470 pigs were used. Pigs (initially 8.8 kg of BW) within sex (barrow or gilt) were allotted to control or 1 of 2 commercial PCV2 vaccines (1DS; Suvaxyn PCV2 Fort Dodge Animal Health, Fort Dodge, IA, or 2DS; Circumvent PCV, Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health, Millsboro, DE). In Exp. 2 a total of 1,993 pigs (25.2 ± 1.24 d of age 7.4 ± 1.70 kg of BW) were allotted within litter and sex to 2 different commercial PCV2 vaccine treatments (BI; CircoFLEX, Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc., St. Joseph, MO, or IN; Circumvent PCV, Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health). On d 143, the one- 2-dose groups were 3.4 4.6 kg heavier (P < 0.05) than the control pigs, respectively, but there was no difference (P = 0.33) between the 2 PCV2 vaccinated groups. The 1DS 2DS groups had greater ADG from d 0 to 143 (0.717 and 0.726 vs. 0.694 kg). Pigs vaccinated in Exp. 2 using IN vaccine had decreased (P < 0.001) ADG from d 0 to 73 (nursery) but tended to have increased (P = 0.06) ADG from d 73 to 155 (finishing) compared with pigs vaccinated using the 1-dose BI vaccine. Overall, ADG and mortality were similar (P ≥ 0.14). In Exp. 1 the commercial PCV2 vaccines evaluated in this study were both effective at increasing ADG with no detectable differences among vaccines. Vaccinating pigs using the BI or IN vaccines resulted in similar overall ADG, but there were differences in growth pattern over time.