Onset of Progeny Immunity against Viral Arthritis/Tenosynovitis after Experimental Vaccination of Parent Breeder Chickens and Cross-Immunity against Six Reovirus Isolates

Immunization of breeder chickens by eyedrop with viral arthritis/tenosynovitis vaccine strain S1133 (73rd egg passage) gave no immunity against day-old oral challenge of their progeny at 1 week postvaccination of the breeders, but progeny immunity was observed at 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 weeks postvaccination of the breeders. Oral cross-challenge of immune progeny with viral isolates from Connecticut, West Virginia, California, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota showed that in vitro neutralization of an isolate by anti-S1133 antiserum correlated with in vivo immunity of the progeny against oral day-old challenge with such an isolate.