The role of specific prophylaxis in the control of the epizootic process of brucellosis in small ruminants

Abstract

A retrospective epizootic analysis proves the effectiveness of control of the epizootic process of brucellosis in small ruminants in large public farms with the annual use of live agglutinogenic vaccine from the B. abortus 19 strain (with thesubcutaneous injection method) in dysfunctional and threatened brood flocks. The live agglutinogenic vaccine from the B. melitensis Rev-1 strain, which was officially regulated for single use, turned out to be non-technological, primarily because of reactogenicity, and also because of the short duration of the immunity formed in animals. Most outbreaks of brucellosis currently occur in private small ruminants, which are significantly outnumbered and lack immunity. It is kept in small farms without division into sex and age groups, epizootic and immune categories, and therefore the systematic replacement of compromised animals with healthy ones is ruled out. It is not technologically feasible to use a vaccine from strain 19 in them according to the scheme adopted for large public farms, since in these conditions, it is impossible to distinguish serological reactions of vaccine and infectious nature during mass diagnostic studies of animals. The proposed scheme based on the conjunctival method immunization and reimmunization of animals with a vaccine from a stable agglutinogenic strain B. abortus 19 in a reduced dose, provides the necessary group immunity, as well as unhindered early post-vaccination diagnostics to identify hidden brucella carriers. It is acceptable for all categories of sheep farms, including small private ones.