Tiny needles wey dem make with silk deliver vaccines to young rainbow trout under water

Young rainbow trout wey weigh one or two grams bring one practical problem for fish farmer. E hard to give normal injection to fish wey small like dat. For research wey come out on 2 November, MIT and US Department of Agriculture team explain how dem take deliver vaccines to fish of dat size with tiny needles wey dem make from silk. Di needles work under water.

Di main design problem na when di material go soft. Di first versions dey soft as soon as water touch dem. Wetin dem carry fit come out before dem enter di skin. Di team put thin layer of shellac, one resin wey people dey use coat food, on top di silk. Dis cover keep di needle strong long enough to enter wet skin and stay there as di fish dey swim.

Why change di needle? If vaccine dey inside feed, some fish fit get more than others. To treat full pool of water go need more material. To inject fish one by one fit require medicine to calm dem and handling outside water. One researcher say normal needles generally begin dey practical for rainbow trout around 30 grams. Na di gap between dat size and di youngest fish di test address.

Di team test versions wey fit release wetin dem carry at different speeds. Dis research look at how to carry vaccines, including DNA vaccines, enter fish. To show say dose fit reach small trout no tell us how much disease e go prevent across full commercial farm. Di team say dem still need more work to use am on large scale.

How dem store am na another question. For one test wey dem keep am for dry place for four weeks, about half di DNA plasmids retain their structure. Dat result concern di material inside di needles under those test conditions. E alone no tell us how long vaccines go last under different farm conditions.

Wetin e mean for you: if you dey raise fish for Nigeria, di type of fish wey dem test matter as much as di size of di needle. Di published work na about rainbow trout. E no give local test results for catfish or tilapia, and e no give price for Nigerian farm. Ask those separate questions if anybody claim say di method don ready for your pond.