Immune response in goats to two commercial foot-and-mouth disease vaccines and the assessment of maternal immunity in their kids.

In this investigation, the immune response of goats to two commercial foot-and-mouth disease vaccines (FMDV) was compared. Highest mean antibody titre was observed on days 60 and 21 in goats vaccinated with two doses of algel (group 1) and oil adjuvant (group 2) quadrivalent vaccines, respectively. There was no significant (P > 0.05) difference in mean antibody titre between the two vaccine groups. However, the antibody titres for type O fell below the protective titres by day 180 and 270 for groups 1 and 2, respectively. The mean maternal antibody titre was 0.610 +/- 0.0 immediately after birth. The highest mean maternal antibody titre was observed at 24 h after birth for all serotypes and then steadily declined. The maternal immunity of kids born to the vaccinated does was persistent up to 90 days after birth. There was no significant (P > 0.05) difference in mean maternal antibody titre between the two groups of goats for all four serotypes throughout the study period. The protective maternal antibody titre for serotype O was maintained only up to 1 week after birth, where for the other three serotypes A, C and Asia1 the protective maternal antibody titre was maintained up to 4 weeks of birth. Oil adjuvant vaccine may be used for control of FMDV in goats and the animals have to be revaccinated after 9 months, whereas the kids must be vaccinated at around 3-4 months after birth. Goats must be included in the FMDV control programmes and the same schedule for cattle can be followed.