Method for the treatment of water-living animals with health modifying agents

Abstract

A process is described for the introduction of health and/or welfare modifying agents, such as vaccines, to water-living animals such as fish. The health and/or welfare modifying agents are introduced into and across an epithelial membrane, such as the gill membrane, of the water-living animal by contacting the animal with the vaccine and then subjecting the animal to a negative pressure differential followed by a rapid release of the negative pressure, by contacting the epithelial membrane with a hyperosmotic concentration of a membrane permeability altering agent, either simultaneously with or prior to contacting the animal with the health and/or welfare modifying agent, or by contacting the epithelial membrane with a hyperosmotic concentration of a membrane permeability altering agent either simultaneously with or prior to contacting the animal with the health and/or welfare modifying agent followed by subjecting the animal to a negative pressure differential and then a rapid release of the negative pressure. Subjecting the animal to a negative pressure differential followed by a rapid release of the negative pressure results in a forceful infiltration of the health and/or welfare modifying agent into the body cavities of the animal. The membrane permeability altering agent renders the epithelial membrane reversibly permeable to the health and/or welfare modifying agent. Effective membrane permeability altering agents include chemical compounds having a molecular weight of about 58 to about 61, with the most preferred membrane permeability altering agents being selected from the group consisting of acetamide, urea, sodium chloride and mixtures thereof.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.