Needle-free injection technology in swine: Progress toward vaccine efficacy and pork quality

Needle-free injection devices (NFIDs) have been available for humans since the 1930s. Their implementation in the swine industry has been slow because of the low cost and ease of use of needle-syringe injection. Recently, there has been a renewed interest in needle-free devices in swine due to two main factors: immunology research, indicating that targeting dendritic cells in the skin and the subcutaneous tissues results in improved immune response with minimal antigen doses, and implementation of pork quality assurance standards to minimize needle-site lesions that are the result of broken needles, bacterial contamination, or both. In this article, we review the peerreviewed and non-peer-reviewed literature on the use of NFIDs in swine.