Abstract
Recent studies have explored the seropositivity of Bovine alphaherpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1) in water buffaloes, suggesting the urgency for developing strategies to eradicate the virus involving both cattle and water buffaloes. However, in Europe, the glycoprotein E (gE) deleted marker vaccines against BoHV-1 are commercially available only for the cattle industry. This study, for the first time, evaluated the safety and efficacy of a commercial inactivated gE-deleted marker vaccine in water buffalo. Five animals devoid of BoHV-1-neutralizing antibodies were vaccinated via intramuscular route. Five additional animals served as an unvaccinated control group. Sixty days after the first immunization, all animals were experimentally infected with a virulent BoHV-1via intranasal route. A detectable BoHV-1-humoral immune response was observed in the vaccinated group on post-vaccination day 30, whereas the antibodies appeared on post-challenge day 10 in the control group. Moreover, the vaccinated animals neither show viral shedding nor clinical signs compared to the control upon challenge. However, post-challenge, the BoHV-1-specific humoral and cell-mediated immune responses were significantly more increased in vaccinated animals than the control animals. Overall, the present study provides evidence of both the safety and efficacy of an inactivated gE-deleted marker vaccine against BoHV-1 in water buffaloes.
Highlights
Water buffaloes originated in Asia, but are currently found on all five continents.To date, in the world, there are about 210 million buffaloes [1] of which approximately4.13 million are bred in Italy and are located mainly in Central and South Italy (Lazio and Campania Regions), to produce traditional dairy products (Ministry of Health, NationalDatabase as of 31 December 2020).Herpesviruses, the members of the Herpesviridae family, are known to infect and cause diseases in animals and humans
More than 200 etiologic agents have been reported in the Herpesviridae family, of which Bovine alphaherpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1) and Bubaline alphaherpesvirus 1 (BuHV-1) belonging to the subfamily, Alphaherpesvirinae and genus Varicellovirus, have been reported to infect water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) [2]
In another study conducted on 1089 serum samples (Piedmont and Campania Regions), 59% of the samples reacted positively to ELISA test irrespective to BoHV-1 or BuHV-1 antigen, and 86.4% were reactive to BuHV-1 only, whereas 11.8%
Summary
Water buffaloes originated in Asia, but are currently found on all five continents.To date, in the world, there are about 210 million buffaloes [1] of which approximately4.13 million are bred in Italy and are located mainly in Central and South Italy (Lazio and Campania Regions), to produce traditional dairy products (Ministry of Health, NationalDatabase as of 31 December 2020).Herpesviruses, the members of the Herpesviridae family, are known to infect and cause diseases in animals and humans. More than 200 etiologic agents have been reported in the Herpesviridae family, of which Bovine alphaherpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1) and Bubaline alphaherpesvirus 1 (BuHV-1) belonging to the subfamily, Alphaherpesvirinae and genus Varicellovirus, have been reported to infect water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) [2]. The BoHV-1 infection that causes severe losses to the cattle industry worldwide is associated with two different clinical syndromes, namely infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) and infectious pustular vulvovaginitis (IPV). It is associated with a variety of clinical signs, including fever, dyspnea, conjunctivitis, nasal discharge, vaginitis, balanoposthitis, abortions, enteritis, and encephalitis [3,4]. BuHV-1 has been shown to be associated with abortion [7,8]
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