Efficacy of a live glycoprotein E-negative bovine herpesvirus 1 vaccine in cattle in the field

To assess the efficacy of a live glycoprotein E-negative bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV1) vaccine to reduce transmission of BHV1 in cattle, a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled field trial including 84 herds was conducted in the Netherlands. The incidence of BHV1 infections during 17 months was monitored by detecting antibodies against BHV1 glycoprotein E. In the placebo-treated group 214 seroconversions in 3985 paired sera, and in the vaccinated group 67 seroconversions in 3601 paired sera were detected. Based on these data, the transmission ratio R(0) was estimated for each treatment, using the maximum likelihood approach and the martingale approach. In placebo-treated herds R(0) was 2.5 (CI 1.4-3.1) using maximum likelihood and 2.8 (S.E. 0.4) using the martingale approach. In the vaccinated group these estimations were 1.2 (CI 0.5-1.5) and 1.5 (S.E. 0.4) respectively. The vaccinated and placebo-treated group differed significantly in transmission of BHV1. These results suggest that the use of this live gE-negative BHV1 vaccine will reduce the incidence and transmission of BHV1 infections in the field.