Evaluation of Intradermal PRRSV MLV Vaccination of Suckling Piglets on Health and Performance Parameters under Field Conditions

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) causes respiratory disease in weaning and growing pigs. A vaccination against PRRSV is one of the most important control measures. This trial aimed to evaluate the effect of the intradermal (ID) administration of a PRRSV-1 modified live virus (MLV) vaccine in comparison to the intramuscular (IM) administration on the piglets’ health and performance. A total of 187 suckling piglets of a PRRSV-positive commercial farrow-to-finish farm were assigned to four groups: group A—PRRSV ID, group B—PRRSV IM, group C—control ID, and group D—control IM. At 2 weeks of age, all the study piglets were either vaccinated with a PRRSV-1 MLV vaccine or injected with the vaccine adjuvant (controls). The collected blood serum samples were tested by ELISA and qRT-PCR. The side effects, body weight (BW), average daily gain (ADG), mortality rate, and lung and pleurisy lesions scores (LLS, PLS) were also recorded. The ELISA results indicated that the vaccination induced an important seroconversion at 4 and 7 weeks. Significant differences in the qRT-PCR results were noticed only at 10 weeks in group A vs. group C (p < 0.01) and group B vs. group C (p < 0.05). High viral loads, as evidenced by the qRT-PCR Ct values, were noticed in animals of both non-vaccinated groups at 7, 10, and 13 weeks. An ID vaccination has a positive impact on the BW at the piglets’ slaughter, while both an ID and IM vaccination had a positive impact on the ADG. The mortality rate was lower in vaccinated groups at the finishing stage. The LLS and PLS were significantly lower in the vaccinated groups. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that the ID vaccination of suckling piglets with a PRRSV-1 MLV vaccine has a positive effect on the piglets’ health and performance, including an improved BW and a lower LLS and PLS index at their slaughter, as well as a decreased mortality rate at the growing/finishing stage.