Evaluation of the safety, immunogenicity and efficacy of three capripoxvirus vaccine strains against lumpy skin disease virus.

The safety, immunogenicity and efficacy of three commercially available vaccines against lumpy skin disease (LSD) in cattle have been evaluated using a combination of vaccine challenge experiments and the monitoring of immune responses in vaccinated animals in the field. The three vaccines evaluated in the study included two locally produced (Ethiopian) vaccines (lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV) Neethling and Kenyan sheep and goat pox (KSGP) O-180 strain vaccines) and a Gorgan goat pox (GTP) vaccine manufactured by Jordan Bio-Industries Centre (JOVAC). The latter vaccine was evaluated for the first time in cattle against LSDV. The Ethiopian Neethling and KSGPO-180 vaccines failed to provide protection in cattle against LSDV, whereas the Gorgan GTP vaccine protected all the vaccinated calves from clinical signs of LSD. There was no significant difference in protective efficacy detected between two dosage levels (P=0.2, P=0.25, and P=0.1 for KSGP, Neethling and Gorgan vaccines, respectively). Additionally, the Gorgan GTP vaccinated cattle showed stronger levels of cellular immune responses measured using Delayed-Type Hypersensitivity (DTH) reactions at the vaccination site indicating higher levels of immunogenicity produced by the GTPV vaccine in cattle, as opposed to the other two vaccines. This study indicated, for the first time, that the Gorgan GTP vaccine can effectively protect cattle against LSDV and that the Neethling and KSGP O-180 vaccine were not protective. The results emphasise the need for molecular characterization of the Neethling and KSGP O-180 vaccine seed viruses used for vaccine production in Ethiopia. In addition, the potency and efficacy testing process of the Ethiopian LSD Neethling and KSGP O-180 vaccines should be re-evaluated.

Gross and histopathological studies on pulmonary lesions of camel (Camelus dromedarius) slaughtered at Addis Ababa abattoir, Ethiopia.

This study was carried out with the aim of identifying types of gross and histopathological lesions in lungs of camels slaughtered between October 2009 and April 2010 at Addis Ababa abattoir enterprise, Ethiopia. All camels were originated from Borana and Kereyu areas. A total of 387 slaughtered camel lungs were inspected during the study period. Of which, one or more gross lesions were encountered on 300 lungs. Lesions were further subjected for detail gross and histopathological examinations. The occurrence of pulmonary lesions was 77.5%. The gross and histopathological examination of these lesions had revealed 60.2% emphysema, 21.2% hydatidosis, 18.6% pneumonia, 10.6% atelectasis, 4.9% aspiration of blood, 3.9% pneumoconiosis, 2.6% pulmonary edema and congestion, 1.6% abscess, 1% pleurisy, and 0.8% granulomatous pneumonia. Most camels had one or more pulmonary lesions on postmortem examination, but they were apparently healthy during antemortem inspection. Therefore, the prevailing stressful environmental condition coupled with the existing poor level of veterinary service in camel-rearing areas of the country might reverse these hidden inactive lesions and thereby contributed for the higher occurrence of respiratory diseases in camels.