Vaccination of lambs with live-attenuated vaccine 2 weeks after oral inoculation with M a paratuberculosis stimulated the host response against the organism and led to a reduced mycobacterial burden. The diminished IFN-gamma responses in experimentally infected sheep with acid-fast organisms suggest a positive relationship between the magnitude of the systemic cell-mediated immune response and an animal's ability to control infection.
The superior performance of the IFN-gamma assay in detecting infected sheep in this small experimental population warrants its further evaluation in a larger population of sheep naturally exposed to M a paratuberculosis.
The PCR assay on blood and liver biopsies does not provide a useful method for the diagnosis of M a paratuberculosis infection in subclinically infected sheep.
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