Long-term control of Coxiellosis in sheep by annual primary vaccination of gimmers

Böttcher, Jens; Bauer, B.; Ambros, Christina; Alex, Michaela; Domes, Ursula; Roth, Sabine; Boll, Kerstin; Korneli, Martin; Bogner, Karl-Heinz; Randt, Andreas; Janowetz, Britta

doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.07.029

Cited by 8 publications

(9 citation statements)

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“…Consequently, pre-infected sheep do not need a booster vaccination of C. burnetii Phase I vaccine after primary vaccination ( 33 ). This approach is supported by data recently published by Böttcher and colleagues ( 34 ) who controlled Q fever in an infected sheep flock merely due to primary vaccination of the replacement ewes. Future studies are necessary to evaluate the cell-mediated immune response, such as the release of INF-γ after application of a C. burnetii Phase I vaccine in sheep in order to confirm our assumptions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 57%

“…The lack of seroconversion from high IgG PhII antibodies to an increase in IgG PhI was previously observed in sheep and cattle ( 33 , 55 ). In cattle, IgG PhII positive animals became seronegative without developing IgG PhI antibodies, but it must be taken into account that the use of different phase-specific ELISA methods hampers a direct comparison ( 34 , 55 ). In the present study, four sheep (two vaccinated and two non-vaccinated ewes) had high IgG PhII levels with a low IgG PhI response over a two-year period, and these animals did not shed the pathogen at parturition.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Taken together, phase-specific serology is a helpful diagnostic tool to characterize the humoral response after naturally acquired C. burnetii or vaccination in small ruminants at herd level ( 31 , 33 , 34 , 70 ). Nonetheless, it is not able to meet expectations of identifying single shedders and evaluating the disease status of individual sheep.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The presence of IgG PhI alone or in combination with similar or lower IgG PhII antibody levels has been associated with antigen contact in the past ( 32 , 33 ). Recently, the phase-specific serology was used to characterize the humoral immune response in infected C. burnetii sheep flocks after vaccination ( 33 , 34 ). Due to the long-lasting IgG PhI response induced by the vaccine, booster vaccination for C. burnetii -infected and vaccinated sheep does not appear to be necessary, but further studies are needed to prove this concept ( 33 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, vaginal shedding was also reduced in some flocks at the following lambing season without vaccination, indicating a self-limitation of Q fever in sheep flocks ( 15 , 44 , 45 ). Assumably, an increasing herd immunity contributes to the interruption of infection cycle, but this hypothesis needs further investigations ( 34 , 42 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impact of Coxiella burnetii vaccination on humoral immune response, vaginal shedding, and lamb mortality in naturally pre-infected sheep

et al. 2022

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IntroductionSheep are considered to be one of the main reservoirs for Coxiella burnetii, a gram-negative bacterium with high zoonotic potential. Infected sheep shed tremendous amounts of the pathogen through birth products which caused human Q fever epidemics in several countries. Information about the impact of an inactivated C. burnetii Phase I vaccine on humoral immune response, vaginal shedding, and lamb mortality in naturally pre-infected sheep is scarce.MethodsTwo identically managed and naturally C. burnetii-infected sheep flocks were examined for two lambing seasons (2019 and 2020). One flock (VAC) received a primary vaccination against Q fever before mating and the second flock served as control (CTR). In each flock, one cohort of 100 ewes was included in follow-up investigations. Serum samples at eight different sampling dates were analyzed by C. burnetii phase-specific ELISAs to differentiate between the IgG Phase I and II responses. Vaginal swabs were collected within three days after parturition and examined by a C. burnetii real-time PCR (IS1111). Lamb losses were recorded to calculate lamb mortality parameters.ResultsAfter primary vaccination, almost all animals from cohort VAC showed a high IgG Phase I response up until the end of the study period. In cohort CTR, the seropositivity rate varied from 35.1% to 66.3%, and the Phase I and Phase II pattern showed an undulating trend with higher IgG Phase II activity during both lambing seasons. The number of vaginal shedders was significantly reduced in cohort VAC compared to cohort CTR during the lambing season in 2019 (p < 0.0167). There was no significant difference of vaginal shedders in 2020. The total lamb losses were low in both cohorts during the two investigated lambing seasons (VAC 2019: 6.8%, 2020: 3.2%; CTR 2019: 1.4%, 2020: 2.7%).DiscussionNeither the C. burnetii vaccine nor the C. burnetii infection seem to have an impact on lamb mortality. Taken together, the inactivated C. burnetii Phase I vaccine induced a strong IgG Phase I antibody response in naturally pre-infected sheep. It might also reduce vaginal shedding in the short term but seems to have little beneficial impact on lamb mortality.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 57%