Abstract
Tuberculosis (TB) in animals is a re-emerging disease with a wide range of hosts that causes large economic losses in livestock. Goats are particularly susceptible to TB and, in endemic areas, vaccination may be a valuable measure to control the disease. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of parenteral vaccination of goats with a heat-inactivated Mycobacterium bovis (HIMB) vaccine, and compare it to M. bovis Bacille Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccine. Twenty-four goat kids were divided in 3 groups as following: HIMB vaccinated group (n = 8), BCG vaccinated group (n = 8) and unvaccinated group (n = 8). Afterwards, goats were experimentally challenged with Mycobacterium caprae by the endobronchial route. Antigen specific interferon-γ release assays and serology were performed after vaccination and challenge. Pathological and bacteriological parameters were evaluated after necropsy at 9 weeks post-challenge (p.c.). HIMB vaccine showed similar levels of protection to BCG in terms of volume reduction of thoracic TB lesions, presence of extra-pulmonary lesions, as well as a slight reduction of bacterial load in pulmonary lymph nodes. Moreover, HIMB vaccine did not induce interferences on the interferon-γ release assay based on reagents previously developed to differentiate infected from BCG vaccinated individuals. The results indicate that HIMB is a suitable vaccine candidate for further larger-scale trials under field conditions in goats.
Highlights
Animal tuberculosis (TB) is a re-emerging multi-host disease caused by microorganisms belonging to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC), such as Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium caprae, that may affect a wide range of domestic animals and wildlife and poses a risk of infection for humans [1]
The efficacy of a heat inactivated M. bovis vaccine in a goat model was evaluated in comparison to Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccinated and control unvaccinated goats
The results indicated that parenteral heatinactivated Mycobacterium bovis (HIMB) vaccination of goats confers protection, mainly in terms of volume lesions reduction in both lungs and pulmonary lymph nodes (LN), being comparable with BCG vaccinated animals
Summary
Animal tuberculosis (TB) is a re-emerging multi-host disease caused by microorganisms belonging to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC), such as Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium caprae, that may affect a wide range of domestic animals and wildlife and poses a risk of infection for humans [1]. Goats are natural hosts of both M. caprae and M. bovis, and can be a source of TB infection for other epidemiologically related species such as cattle [3] or sheep [4]. The lack of an official TB control program in goats can jeopardize the eradication efforts in cattle [5]. In this scenario, vaccination of goats may be a useful long-term tool to reduce TB prevalence in goat herds. As a live-attenuated vaccine, BCG stability in environmental conditions could be limited and an eventual transmission to nonvaccinated animals cannot be excluded [10]
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