Protection provided by live and inactivated virus vaccination against challenge with the virulent nephropathogenic infectious bronchitis virus (NIBV) strain PA/Wolgemuth/98 was assessed. Vaccinations with combinations of live attenuated strains Massachusetts (Mass) Connecticut (Conn) or Mass Arkansas (Ark) were given by eyedrop to 2-wk-old specific-pathogen-free leghorn chickens. After live infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) vaccination, some chickens at 6 wk of age received an injection of either an oil emulsion vaccine containing inactivated IBV strains Mass Ark or an autogenous vaccine prepared from NIBV PA/Wolgemuth/98. Challenge with PA/Wolgemuth/98 was given via eyedrop at 10 wk of age.

Serum IBV enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay antibody geometric mean titers (GMTs) after vaccination with the combinations of live attenuated strains were low, ranging from 184 to 1354, prior to NIBV challenge at 10 wk of age. Both inactivated vaccines induced an anamnestic response of similar magnitudes with serum GMTs of 6232–12,241.

Assessment of protection following NIBV challenge was based on several criteria: virus reisolation from trachea and kidney and renal microscopic pathology and IBV-specific antigen immunohistochemistry (IHC). Live attenuated virus vaccination alone with combinations of strains Mass Conn or Mass Ark did not protect the respiratory tract and kidney of chickens after PA/Wolgemuth/98 challenge. Chickens given a live combination vaccination of Mass Conn and boosted with an inactivated Mass Ark vaccine were also susceptible to NIBV challenge on the basis of virus isolation from trachea and kidney but showed protection on the basis of renal microscopic pathology and IHC. Live IBV-primed chickens vaccinated with an autogenous inactivated PA/Wolgemuth/98 vaccine had the highest protection against homologous virulent NIBV challenge on the basis of virus isolation.