Diagnostic and vaccine chapter

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Immunology
• Vaccinology
• Bacteriology

Background:

• Brucellosis remains a significant zoonotic disease globally, impacting animal health and agricultural economies.
• Current diagnostic methods for Brucellosis can struggle to differentiate between vaccinated and infected animals, complicating disease control strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and characterize a novel killed composite vaccine for Brucellosis.
• To evaluate the diagnostic performance of a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (c-ELISA) for differentiating vaccinated from infected cattle.

Main Methods:

• Development of a non-infectious, killed composite vaccine with assessed safety and reactivity profiles.
• Application of a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (c-ELISA) for detecting Brucella-specific antibodies in cattle sera.

Main Results:

• The killed composite vaccine demonstrated low reactivity, was non-abortive, and did not cause adverse pathomorphological changes in vaccinated animals.
• The c-ELISA exhibited higher sensitivity compared to traditional tests for detecting antibodies against Brucella abortus in both naturally and experimentally infected cattle.

Conclusions:

• The developed killed composite vaccine is safe and effective for animal immunization against Brucellosis.
• The c-ELISA is a valuable tool for accurate diagnosis and effective management of Brucellosis in cattle populations, aiding in the discrimination of vaccinated animals.