A comparison of different vaccination schemes used in sheep combining inactivated bluetongue vaccines against serotypes 4 and 8.

Eight different vaccination schemes using four commercially available inactivated Bluetongue vaccines against serotypes 4 and 8 in three different combinations (setting 1-3) were tested under field conditions for their ability to generate a measurable immune response in sheep. Animals of setting 1 (groups A-D) were simultaneously vaccinated using either individual injections at different locations (groups A & D) or double injection by a twin-syringe (groups B & C). For both application methods, a one-shot vaccination (groups C & D) was compared to a boosted vaccination (groups A & B). Sheep of setting 2 (groups E-G) were vaccinated in an alternating, boosted pattern at fortnightly intervals starting with serotype 4 (groups E & F) or vice versa (group G). Group H of setting 3 was vaccinated simultaneously and vaccines were injected individually as a one-shot application. Each group consisted of 30 sheep. The immunogenic response was tested in all sheep (n = 240) by ELISA (IDScreen®Bluetongue Competition), while serum neutralisation tests were performed in five to six sheep from each group (n = 45). All vaccine combinations were well tolerated by all sheep. Of all vaccines and schemes described, the simultaneous double injected boosted vaccination of setting 1 (group B) yielded the highest median serotype-specific titres 26 weeks after the first vaccination (afv) and 100% seropositive animals (ELISA) one year afv. In setting 1, there were no relevant significant differences in the immunogenic response between simultaneously applied vaccines at different sites or at the same injection site. Importantly, a one-shot vaccination induced comparable immunogenicity to a boosted injection half a year afv. Low serotype-specific neutralising antibody levels were detected in settings 2 and 3 and are attributed to diverse factors which may have influenced the measured immunogenicity.

Surveillance of Batai virus in bovines from Germany.

To estimate the veterinary importance of Batai virus (BATV), we investigated the presence of BATV-specific antibodies and BATV RNA in 548 bovines from southwest Germany, and we demonstrated that 3 cattle serum samples contained BATV-neutralizing antibodies, resulting in a seroprevalence of 0.55%. Thus, our results confirm local transmission and indicate cattle as potential hosts of BATV in southwest Germany.

[Aspects seroepidemiological studies on Q fever in unvaccinated dairy cattle herds]. / Aspekte seroepidemiologischer Untersuchungen zum Q-Fieber in nicht geimpften Rinderbeständen.

Q fever is a zoonosis distributed worldwide and important in human as well as in veterinary medicine in Germany. In Baden-Wurttemberg, the pathogen is endemic. Usually Q fever is associated with infected sheep flocks. In contrast, however, in the animal disease reporting system (TSN) 88.1% of all listed Q fever infections during the last 12 years have been registered in cattle. Accordingly, in Baden-Württemberg and Freudenstadt 78.3 and, respectively, 62.5% of the Q fever cases were from cattle. Long term studies on appearance of Coxiella burnetii in normal herds of cattle are missing. Increasing vaccination of cattle herds against Q fever with the vaccine approved in Germany (no marker vaccine) complicates the future opportunities to gain data from serological studies. In the present study, a total of 1640 bovine sera taken from unvaccinated, clini- tion against C burnetii for analysis and comparison. The results show, depending on the test, a seroprevalence of 4.3% to 7.4%. Seasonal comparison revealed a significant increase of up to 9%.The month with the highest seroprevalence aver aged over three years was June with a prevalence of 24.7%. Overall, the findings of this study demonstrate that even the high number of entries does not fully capture the true prevalence of Q fever in cattle herds.