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Bovine leucosis virus contamination of a vaccine produced in vivo against bovine babesiosis and anaplasmosis
Author(s) -
ROGERS RJ,
DIMMOCK CK,
VOS AJ,
RODWELL BJ
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
australian veterinary journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.382
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 1751-0813
pISSN - 0005-0423
DOI - 10.1111/j.1751-0813.1988.tb16144.x
Subject(s) - anaplasmosis , leucosis , ouchterlony double immunodiffusion , virology , biology , veterinary medicine , enzootic , herd , babesiosis , virus , medicine , tick , antigen , immunology , antiserum
SUMMARY: Contamination of a batch of tick fever (babesiosis and anaplasmosis) vaccine with bovine leucosis virus (BLV) was detected when a herd, in the final stages of an enzootic bovine leucosis (EBL) accreditation program, developed a large number of seropositive cattle following use of tick fever vaccine. Investigations incriminated a single calf used to produce Anaplasma centrale vaccine from which 13,959 doses were distributed. The failure of this calf to give a positive agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) test before use was not fully explained. A total of 22,627 cattle from 111 herds receiving contaminated vaccine was tested to validate claims for compensation. Results showed infection rates of 62% and 51.8% in vaccinated dairy and beef cattle, respectively, compared with 6.1% and 1.5% in non‐vaccinated cattle in the same herds. The results also indicated that infection did not spread from vaccinated to non‐vaccinated in‐contact cattle. Heavy reliance is now placed on purchase of calves for vaccine production from EBL accredited‐free herds and on transmission tests from the calves to sheep to prevent a recurrence of contamination. The need for a BLV antigen detection test, with the sensitivity of the sheep transmission test but simpler and faster to perform, is evident.