The invention provides for anti-pathogen vaccines produced in recombinant bacteria and/or transgenic plants and administered through standard vaccine introduction methods or oral administration. In one embodiment, the vaccine is administered through the consumption of the edible plant as food, or the bacteria administered orally. The present invention also provides a method of using genetically modified microorganisms, such as lactic acid bacteria, including Lactococcus lactis strains, as oral vaccines. In one embodiment, Lactococcus lactis expressing the avian influenza HA gene can be used as an oral vaccine for protection against H5N1 virus infection. In another embodiment, said Lactococcus lactis is administered as an oral vaccine in conjunction with an adjuvant such as cholera toxin B.
