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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » National Animal Disease Center » Infectious Bacterial Diseases Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #223737
Title: Vaccination with Mycobacterium bovis BCG Strains Danish and Pasteur in White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) Experimentally Challenged with Mycobacterium bovis

Author
item Palmer, Mitchell
item Thacker, Tyler
item Waters, Wade

Submitted to: Zoonoses and Public Health
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/22/2008
Publication Date: 1/17/2009
Citation: Palmer, M.V., Thacker, T.C., Waters, W.R. 2009. Vaccination with Mycobacterium bovis BCG Strains Danish and Pasteur in White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) Experimentally Challenged with Mycobacterium bovis. Zoonoses and Public Health. 56(5):243-251.

Interpretive Summary: Wildlife reservoirs of Mycobacterium bovis represent serious obstacles to the eradication of tuberculosis in domestic livestock. The cause for many faltering eradication programs is the presence of wildlife reservoirs of M. bovis. One approach in dealing with this wildlife reservoir is to vaccinate deer in order to interrupt transmission. White-tailed deer were vaccinated with one of two different TB vaccines (BCG Pasteur and BCG Danish). After vaccination, deer were inoculated with virulent M. bovis. Disease severity was reduced in vaccinated deer compared to unvaccinated deer. However, BCG Danish provided superior protection compared to that provided by BCG Pasteur. BCG Danish may provide a reasonable means by which to vaccinate deer to prevent deer to deer or deer to cattle transmission of disease. This information will be useful to agricultural and wildlife officials as well as USDA action agencies such as APHIS.

Technical Abstract: Wildlife reservoirs of Mycobacterium bovis represent serious obstacles to the eradication of tuberculosis in domestic livestock. The cause for many faltering eradication programs is the presence of wildlife reservoirs of M. bovis. One approach in dealing with this wildlife reservoir is to vaccinate deer in order to interrupt transmission. Thirty-five white-tailed deer were assigned to one of three groups; 1 SC doses of 10**7 CFU of M. bovis BCG Pasteur (n=12); 1 SC dose of 10**7 CFU of M. bovis BCG Danish (n=11); or unvaccinated deer (n=12). After vaccination, deer were inoculated intratonsilarly with virulent M. bovis. Lesion severity scores of the medial retropharyngeal lymph node were significantly reduced in vaccinated deer compared to unvaccinated deer. BCG Danish vaccinated deer had fewer lymph node granulomas than BCG Pasteur vaccinates or unvaccinated deer, and most notably, fewer late stage granulomas characterized by coalescent caseonecrotic granulomas containing numerous acid-fast bacilli. Both BCG strain were isolated as late as 250 days after vaccination from deer that were vaccinated but not challenged. In white-tailed deer BCG Danish provides superior protection against challenge with virulent M. bovis.