Duration of maternally derived immunity to tetanus and response in newborn foals given tetanus antitoxin
Liu, I.K.; Brown, S.L.; Kuo, J.; Neeley, D.P.; Feeley, J.C.
American Journal of Veterinary Research 43(11): 2019-2022
1982
ISSN/ISBN: 0002-9645 PMID: 7181201 Document Number: 186589
Serum antibody titre against tetanus toxin (antitoxin titre) was more than or equal to 2.8 IU/ml in 6 foals and 0.01-0.70 IU/ml in 24 foals at 24 h of age, after ingestion of dams' colostrum. Serum antitoxin titre was considered inadequate (<0.01 IU/ml) in 17, 61, 76 and 82%, resp., of the 30 foals by 1, 2, 3 and 4 months of age. A 2nd group of 12 foals received, in addition to colostrum, antitoxin intramuscularly at 24 h of age. In 7 foals with post-colostral serum antitoxin titre >2.8 IU/ml, an increase due to injection was not demonstrated, but in the other 5, injection increased mean antitoxin titre from 0.038 to 0.42 IU/ml. The latter 5 maintained adequate serum antitoxin titres for longer than comparable foals in the 1st study. Low serum antitoxin titre after colostrum ingestion was related to low colostral antitoxin titre rather than poor uptake of colostral immunoglobulin.