Antigenic competition among different 'O' antigens of Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica serovars during hyperimmunization in pony mares.

The present study on antigenic competition among somatic 'O' antigens of different Salmonella groups (A, B, C1, C2, D and E1) in mares revealed that the immune response to most of the antigens was not (A, B, C2) or little (C1, D) affected by antigenic competition. However, E1 group antigen, which induced high antibody titres (Avg. 12967.3) when given alone, produced almost 3.5 log2 lower antibody titres on giving with other antigens, indicating the antigenic competition among some Salmonella group antigens. The antigenic competition varied for different antigens even of the similar chemical nature. Therefore, antigens belonging to different somatic groups should not be given together for the purpose of raising polyvalent serum or for immunization using multivalent Salmonella vaccines prepared from strains of different 'O' groups revealing antigenic competition.