Footrot vaccines and vaccination

Area of Science:

• Veterinary immunology
• Infectious disease control
• Vaccine development

Background:

• Footrot in small ruminants, caused by Dichelobacter nodosus, necessitates effective control strategies.
• Vaccine development for footrot has progressed from inefficient whole-cell vaccines to more targeted recombinant fimbrial antigen vaccines.
• Previous multivalent vaccines showed limited efficacy due to antigenic competition.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the evolution and efficacy of footrot vaccines in sheep and goats.
• To highlight the success of outbreak-specific vaccination strategies.
• To identify future research directions for improved footrot vaccine development.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of footrot vaccine research and field applications.
• Analysis of vaccine antigen types, including whole cell and recombinant fimbrial antigens.
• Evaluation of vaccination strategies, such as monovalent, multivalent, and outbreak-specific approaches.

Main Results:

• Recombinant fimbrial vaccines are more effective than whole-cell vaccines.
• Outbreak-specific mono- or bivalent recombinant fimbrial vaccines demonstrate high efficacy in sheep and goats.
• Sequential vaccination can overcome antigenic competition in flocks with multiple serogroups.

Conclusions:

• Flock-specific mono- or bivalent fimbrial vaccines are currently the most effective tools for footrot control and eradication.
• Future research should focus on identifying common antigens, improving vaccine longevity, and understanding immunity.
• Developing vaccines with universal antigens remains a key goal for comprehensive footrot management.