[Evaluation of the vaccine potentiality of 2 strains from Leptospira interrogans serogroup Ballum]. / Evaluación de la potencialidad vacunal de 2 cepas de Leptospira interrogans serogrupo Ballum.

Two vacine candidate strains from Ballum serogroup were characterized and their immunogenicity and protective power were studied in hamster. The monovalent vaccine formulations obtained showed a high immunogenicity and capacity of homologous protection and, in a lesser degree, of cross protection.

[Microbiological characterization of candidate vaccine strains of Ballum serogroup Leptospira interrogans]. / Caracterización microbiológica de cepas candidatas vacunales de Leptospira interrogans serogrupo Ballum.

Two candidate vaccines of Ballum serogroup Leptospira interrogans were microbiologically characterized as part of the work directed to the obtention of new antileptospirosis vaccine formulations for human use. The growth kynetics of both strains was evaluated in EMJH protein medium and in 3 protein free media. The virulence was estimated in hamsters by the calculation of the mean lethal dose. The cellular and extracellular antigenic profiles were analyzed by unidimensional SDS-PAGE and compared with those from strains of Canicola, Icterohaemorrhagiae and Pomona serogroups. The antigenic homology among heterologous groups was analyzed by western blotting with serun from hasterms vaccinated with vax-SPIRAL. The results obtained showed a fastidious growth of both strains of Ballum in the studied media, a high virulence in the animal model and a large antigenic homology with strains from other serogroups of Lepstospira prevailing in Cuba.