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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #64086
Title: ANTIBODY RESPONSES TO BRUCELLA ABORTUS 2308 IN CATTLE VACCINATED WITH B. ABORTUS RB51

Author
item Stevens, Mark
item Olsen, Steven

Submitted to: Infection and Immunity
Publication Type: Research Notes
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/9/1995
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Cattle are currently given the Brucella abortus strain 19 vaccine to prevent brucellosis and abortions that are caused by infection with B. abortus. Vaccinating with strain 19 and testing cattle for brucellosis has almost eradicated brucellosis from cattle in the United States. The B. abortus strain RB51 vaccine is being tested to replace the strain 19 vaccine. Strain RB51 is better than strain 19 as a vaccine because cattle vaccinated with strain RB51 do not produce antibodies which are detected in diagnostic tests for brucellosis. Therefore, cattle having brucellosis can be more easily identified and the eradication of brucellosis from cattle may be more rapidly achieved by using the strain RB51 vaccine. Results from this study provide additional support that strain RB51 vaccination of cattle does not interfere with diagnosing brucellosis in cattle. These findings provide additional evidence for the use of the strain RB51 vaccine in aiding the eradication of brucellosis from cattle in the United States.

Technical Abstract: Cattle vaccinated with Brucella abortus rough strain RB51 (SRB51) produced low amounts of serum IgG, but no IgM antibody to smooth strain 2308 (S2308) bacteria and produced no IgG or IgM antibody to S2308 lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Western blot analysis revealed that antiserum from SRB51-vaccinated cattle contained IgG that reacted with S2308 proteins of 84 to <10 kDa. However, antiserum from the vaccinated cattle did not contain agglutinating B. abortus antibody using the tube agglutination test for brucellosis. These results suggest that SRB51-vaccinated cattle produced no antibody to S2308 LPS although they did produce non-agglutinating IgG antibody that reacted with S2308 bacteria and bacterial proteins of 84 to <20 kDa.