At this moment our consortium consist of partners from Ireland, Spain and the Netherland (WBVR). We would like to expand our consortium with a research partner from a different country with interest in early-life immune responses in experimental or field conditions. In the proposed project, we aim to elucidate the impact of colostrum on the development/maturation of the immune system (innate, cellular and humoral) in the early post-natal period of pigs, and investigate the impact of colostrum on the health status and resilience of young piglets. We aim to analyze colostrum components, the influence of colostrum on the immune development in early life (B-cell, T-cell and innate responses) and the contribution of vaccination and different vaccination routes to protection against early-life infections.

WBVR is a Dutch research institute and part of Wageningen University & Research (WUR). We are the leading veterinary research institute in the Netherlands on animal infectious diseases, including one health and biomedical approaches. Next to the pathogen related research and vaccination studies, there is a strong interest for the immune development in the early-life period.