Evaluation of the safety, immunogenicity and efficacy of a new live-attenuated lumpy skin disease vaccine in India.

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) was reported for the first time in India in 2019 and since then, it has become endemic. Since a homologous (LSD-virus based) vaccine was not available in the country, goatpox virus (GPV)-based heterologous vaccine was authorized for mass immunization to induce protection against LSD in cattle. This study describes the evaluation of safety, immunogenicity and efficacy of a new live-attenuated LSD vaccine developed by using an Indian field strain, isolated in 2019 from cattle. The virus was attenuated by continuous passage (P = 50) in Vero cells. The vaccine (50th LSDV passage in Vero cells, named as Lumpi-ProVacInd) did not induce any local or systemic reaction upon its experimental inoculation in calves (n = 10). At day 30 post-vaccination (pv), the vaccinated animals were shown to develop antibody- and cell-mediated immune responses and exhibited complete protection upon virulent LSDV challenge. A minimum Neethling response (0.018% animals; 5 out of 26,940 animals) of the vaccine was observed in the field trials conducted in 26,940 animals. There was no significant reduction in the milk yield in lactating animals (n = 10108), besides there was no abortion or any other reproductive disorder in the pregnant animals (n = 2889). Sero-conversion was observed in 85.18% animals in the field by day 30 pv.

Antibacterial Activity of Two Chemomechanical Caries Removal Gels on Carious Dentin of Primary Teeth: An in vitro Study.

INTRODUCTION: Chemomechanical caries removal (CMCR) is an effective method of caries removal especially for primary teeth as they cause less discomfort when compared with conventional caries removal. The most significant thing about caries removal is the elimination of cariogenic bacteria. This study compares the antibacterial activity of two CMCR gels. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 40 primary molar teeth with carious dentin were split along the long axis in a laboratory. Total viable count (TVC) was taken for the teeth before splitting as a measure of colony-forming units per milliliter (CFU/mL). Each half was treated with either Carisolv or Carie-Care CMCR gels. Clean dentin samples were evaluated for Streptococcus mutans (SM) and Lactobacillus acidophilus (LB) after removal of carious tissue using the caries removal gels using serial dilutions and incubating on specific agar plates. RESULTS: The results showed significant reduction in mean TVC after use of both the CMCR gels. Both gels reduced the CFU/mL of SM and LB to a significant level (p < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference between the antibacterial activities of the two CMCR gels. CONCLUSION: The CMCR gels (Carisolv and Carie-Care) significantly reduced the residual TVC as well as SM and LB in carious primary dentin. Both CMCR gels had a similar antibacterial activity on the carious dentin of primary teeth. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The CMCR gels tested have a significant antibacterial activity and can be effectively used for elimination of caries-causing bacteria in primary teeth.

Real-time PCR carried out on DNA extracted from serum or blood sample is not a good method for surveillance of bovine brucellosis.

Bovine brucellosis is endemic in many parts of the world including India. The disease diagnosis and surveillance are usually carried out by serological tests, which however have drawbacks. This study was undertaken to evaluate the potential of real-time PCR (RT-PCR) targeting bcsp31 gene for surveillance of bovine brucellosis. A total of 461 samples, which included 408 stored serum and 53 prospective blood samples, were used. It was found that 33 (7.15 %) samples were positive by RT-PCR, whereas 149 (32.32 %) and 132 (28.63 %) were positive by Rose Bengal plate test (RBPT) or standard agglutination test (STAT), respectively. The results of this study suggest that RT-PCR targeting bcsp31 gene carried out on DNA extracted from serum or blood may not be a suitable method for surveillance of brucellosis in bovines.

Evaluation of the recombinant 10-kilodalton immunodominant region of the BP26 protein of Brucella abortus for specific diagnosis of bovine brucellosis.

Brucellosis is a disease with worldwide distribution affecting animals and human beings. Brucella abortus is the causative agent of bovine brucellosis. The cross-reactions of currently available diagnostic procedures for B. abortus infection result in false-positive reactions, which make the procedures unreliable. These tests are also unable to differentiate Brucella-infected and -vaccinated animals. The present work is focused on the use of a nonlipopolysaccharide (LPS) diagnostic antigen, a recombinant 10-kDa (r10-kDa) protein of B. abortus, for specific diagnosis of brucellosis. The purified recombinant protein was used as a diagnostic antigen in plate enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (p-ELISA) format to screen 408 bovine serum samples (70 presumptively negative, 308 random, and 30 vaccinated), and the results were compared with those of the Rose Bengal plate agglutination test (RBPT) and the standard tube agglutination test (STAT). Statistical analysis in presumptive negative samples revealed 100 and 98.41% specificity of p-ELISA with RBPT and STAT, and an agreement of 91.43% with the tests using Cohen's kappa statistics. In random samples, the agreement of p-ELISA was 77.92% and 80.52% with RBPT and STAT, respectively. p-ELISA investigation of vaccinated samples reported no false-positive results, whereas RBPT and STAT reported 30% and 96.6% false-positive results, respectively. The data suggest that p-ELISA with r10-kDa protein may be a useful method for diagnosis of bovine brucellosis. Furthermore, p-ELISA may also be used as a tool for differentiating Brucella-vaccinated and naturally infected animals.