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. 2018 Mar 29;89(0):e1-e7.
doi: 10.4102/jsava.v89i0.1527.

Immunological response to Brucella abortus strain 19 vaccination of cattle in a communal area in South Africa

Gregory J G Simpson  1 , Tanguy Marcotty, Elodie Rouille, Abel Chilundo, Jean-Jacques Letteson, Jacques Godfroid
Affiliations

Immunological response to Brucella abortus strain 19 vaccination of cattle in a communal area in South Africa

Gregory J G Simpson et al. J S Afr Vet Assoc. .

Abstract

Brucellosis is of worldwide economic and public health importance. Heifer vaccination with live attenuated Brucella abortus strain 19 (S19) is the cornerstone of control in low- and middle-income countries. Antibody persistence induced by S19 is directly correlated with the number of colony-forming units (CFU) per dose. There are two vaccination methods: a 'high' dose (5-8 × 1010 CFU) subcutaneously injected or one or two 'low' doses (5 × 109 CFU) through the conjunctival route. This study aimed to evaluate serological reactions to the 'high' dose and possible implications of the serological findings on disease control. This study included 58 female cases, vaccinated at Day 0, and 29 male controls. Serum was drawn repeatedly and tested for Brucella antibodies using the Rose Bengal Test (RBT) and an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (iELISA). The cases showed a rapid antibody response with peak RBT positivity (98%) at 2 weeks and iELISA (95%) at 8 weeks, then decreased in an inverse logistic curve to 14% RBT and 32% iELISA positive at 59 weeks and at 4.5 years 57% (4/7 cases) demonstrated a persistent immune response (RBT, iELISA or Brucellin skin test) to Brucella spp. Our study is the first of its kind documenting the persistence of antibodies in an African communal farming setting for over a year to years after 'high' dose S19 vaccination, which can be difficult to differentiate from a response to infection with wild-type B. abortus. A recommendation could be using a 'low' dose or different route of vaccination.

Keywords: S19; brucellosis; cattle; communal; serology; skin test; vaccination.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no financial or personal relationships that may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Map of the Mnisi research site. The sampling was done at the two research dip tanks indicated by black dots.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Proportion of animals blood sampled over course of study.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Observed proportion of Rose Bengal Test–positive case results over time using quadratic logistic regression and with 95% confidence intervals.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Observed proportion of indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay–positive case results over time using categorical logistic regression and with 95% confidence intervals.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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