Oral vaccination of chickens against Newcastle disease with V4 vaccine delivered on processed rice grains.

An international effort (sponsored by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research) is being made to develop oral vaccines that will protect village chickens against Newcastle disease. The vaccines being used are derivatives of the avirulent Australian V4 strain that have been selected for enhanced heat resistance. The present study, undertaken in Sri Lanka, used local processed (parboiled) rice as a vehicle for the vaccine. Chickens receiving two doses of vaccine on cooked, parboiled rice were completely protected against contact challenge with the virulent SL 88/1 Sri Lankan strain of Newcastle disease virus Chickens kept in contact with these vaccinated chickens were similarly protected. Lower levels of protection were achieved with vaccine given on uncooked parboiled rice. V4 vaccine administered intranasally also gave complete protection. Serums from vaccinated chickens that survived challenge were tested for haemagglutination-inhibition antibodies, using both vaccine virus and challenge virus as antigens. Titres were higher against vaccine virus.

Persistence of the carrier status in haemorrhagic septicaemia (Pasteurella multocida serotype 6:B infection) in buffaloes.

Fifty-seven young buffaloes were experimentally infected or naturally exposed to haemorrhagic septicaemia (HS). Of these animals 32 became immune carriers. They were observed in groups for periods up to 360 days to monitor the appearance of pasteurellae in the nasopharynx and antibody status. In most animals pasteurellae appeared in the nasopharynx for a short period initially and disappeared. The organism reappeared intermittently and the longest observed period of reappearance was 215 days after exposure. All animals showed rising antibody titres with a peak lasting for 150 to 180 days and declining thereafter. Pasteurellae persisted in the tonsils and were isolated from 20 out of 27 carriers after slaughter. The longest period when isolation was made after slaughter was 229 days. The organism lodged in the tonsils was unaffected by antibacterial therapy using drugs to which the organism displayed in vitro sensitivity. It is concluded that in HS, carrier animals exist in an active as well as a latent state, the former appearing for short intermittent periods between long latent periods, when pasteurellae continue to remain in the tonsils which constitute a long-term reservoir.

Mortality among cattle and buffaloes in Sri Lanka due to haemorrhagic septicaemia.

Data on the mortality of cattle and buffaloes in 62 epizootics of haemorrhagic septicaemia (HS) in the HS enzootic and non-enzootic regions of Sri Lanka was collected and subjected to statistical analysis. It was found that the overall mortality for buffaloes was higher than for cattle (45.2 and 15.8% respectively, P less than 0.001). For buffaloes in enzootic areas only the overall mortality was 29% whilst in non-enzootic areas it was 64.5% (P less than 0.05). In the enzootic areas deaths were mainly confined to young animals whereas in the non-enzootic areas when sporadic outbreaks of HS occurred deaths were scattered over all age groups. The vaccines used, vaccination schedules adopted and the coverage of vaccination in these herds did not appear to influence the mortality among buffaloes in enzootic areas to a statistically significant degree.

Production and characterization of streptomycin dependent mutants of Pasteurella multocida from bovine haemorrhagic septicaemia.

A large number of streptomycin dependent mutants were produced from bovine haemorrhagic septicaemia strains of Pasteurella multocida. The mutants required a minimum concentration of 25-50 microgram/mL streptomycin for growth and tolerated a concentration of 200 mg/mL. These mutants were avirulent to mice, when inoculated alone, but some mutants killed mice when inoculated with streptomycin. Biochemically all mutants were uniform and similar to the wild type. Most mutants were stable, but a few produced streptomycin independent revertants. The rate of reversion varied with each mutant. Most revertants were highly virulent for mice, some totally avirulant and a few relatively avirulent.

Preliminary field trails with a streptomycin-dependent vaccine against haemorrhagic septicaemia.

In two trials, 68 cattle and buffalo calves, four to 10 months of age, were vaccinated with a vaccine containing a live streptomycin dependent mutant of Pasteurella multocida type B, isolated in Sri Lanka. Immunity was assessed using the passive protection test in mice with cattle and buffalo sera before and two or three weeks after vaccination. A single dose of vaccine conferred immunity in 66.6 to 83.3 per cent of cattle and 100 per cent of buffalo calves. A booster dose given three weeks later enhanced the immunity in cattle. There was no significant difference in the response, whether the vaccine was administered by the subcutaneous or intramuscular route. No adverse reactions were observed in any of the vaccinated animals.