Cook, Elizabeth 
ORCID: 0000-0001-6081-8363, Russell, George, Grant, Dawn, Mutisya, Christine, Omoto, Lazarus, Dobson, Elizabeth, Lankester, Felix and Nene, Vishvanath
(2019)
A randomised vaccine field trial in Kenya demonstrates protection against wildebeest-associated malignant catarrhal fever in cattle.
VACCINE, 37 (40).
pp. 5946-5953.
Abstract
Wildebeest-associated malignant catarrhal fever (WA-MCF), a fatal disease of cattle caused by alcelaphine herpesvirus 1 (AlHV-1), is one of the most important seasonal diseases of cattle in wildebeest endemic areas, with annual incidence reaching 10%. Here we report efficacy of over 80% for a vaccine based on the attenuated AlHV-1 C500 strain, in preventing fatal WA-MCF in cattle exposed to natural wildebeest challenge. The study was conducted at Kapiti Plains Ranch Ltd, south-east of Nairobi, Kenya. In 2016, 146 cattle were selected for a randomised placebo-controlled trial. Cattle were stratified according to breed and age and randomly assigned to groups given vaccine or culture medium mixed with Emulsigen®. Cattle received prime and boost inoculations one month apart and few adverse reactions (n = 4) were observed. Indirect ELISA demonstrated that all cattle in the vaccine group developed a serological response to AlHV-1. The study herd was grazed with wildebeest from one month after booster vaccination. Three cattle, two that received vaccine and one control, succumbed to conditions unrelated to WA-MCF before the study ended. Twenty-five cattle succumbed to WA-MCF; four of the remaining 71 cattle in the vaccine group (5.6%) and 21 of the remaining 72 control cattle (29.2%; χ<sup>2</sup> = 13.6, df = 1, p < 0.001). All of the WA-MCF affected cattle were confirmed by PCR to be infected with AlHV-1 and in 23 cases exhibited histopathology typical of WA-MCF. Vaccine efficacy was determined to be 80.6% (95% CI 46.5-93.0%). Hence, the AlHV-1 C500 vaccine is a safe and potentially effective novel method for controlling WA-MCF in cattle. The implementation of this vaccine may have significant impacts on marginalised cattle keeping communities.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Alcelaphine herpesvirus I, Malignant catarrhal fever, Wildebeest, Vaccine field trial, Vaccine efficacy |
| Depositing User: | Symplectic Admin |
| Date Deposited: | 02 Oct 2019 09:16 |
| Last Modified: | 19 Jan 2023 00:24 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.vaccine.2019.08.040 |
| Open Access URL: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2019.08.040 |
| Related URLs: | |
| URI: | https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3056669 |
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