Since its recognition in the early 1980s, enteric septicemia of catfish (ESC), caused by the gram‐negative enteric Edwardsiella ictaluri, is one of the most significant pathogens affecting catfish aquaculture. In efforts to improve disease management in U.S. catfish aquaculture, a live‐attenuated ESC vaccine and method of in‐pond oral vaccine delivery was developed. This work evaluated the efficacy of the oral delivery platform using a live‐attenuated E. ictaluri vaccine under simulated commercial conditions. Channel catfish fingerlings were orally vaccinated approximately 40–50 days poststocking by mixing the attenuated vaccine with feed using a patent‐pending mechanized delivery system. Across three discrete years under varying evaluation methods, vaccination resulted in significant improvements in survival, feed conversion ratio, feed fed, and total yield. An economic analysis of experimental data suggests a significant positive net economic benefit from vaccination. After accounting for a projected cost of vaccination, the realized improvements in survival and yield resulted in an estimated benefit exceeding $3,500/ha ($1,400/acre) on fingerling operations. These results suggest vaccinating channel catfish fingerlings against ESC is an effective strategy to mitigate ESC‐related losses and can significantly improve production efficiency and profitability on catfish operations.

中文翻译：

---

爱德华氏菌口腔疫苗接种平台在池塘试验中的验证

自从1980年代初得到认可以来，由革兰氏阴性肠粘菌Edwardtalella ictaluri引起的of鱼肠败血症是影响cat鱼养殖的最重要病原体之一。为了改善美国cat鱼养殖中的疾病管理，开发了一种减毒活疫苗和一种口服口服疫苗。这项工作使用减毒的活肠埃希氏大肠杆菌评估了口服递送平台的功效模拟商业条件下接种疫苗。放养后约40–50天，通过使用正在申请专利的机械化输送系统将减毒疫苗与饲料混合，对鱼鱼种进行口服疫苗接种。在不同的评估方法下的连续三年中，接种疫苗可显着提高存活率，饲料转化率，饲喂饲料和总产量。对实验数据进行的经济分析表明，接种疫苗可带来显着的正净经济利益。在考虑到预计的疫苗接种成本后，生存率和产量的实际提高导致鱼种操作的估计收益超过$ 3,500 / ha（$ 1/400 /英亩）。