Vaccination of adult animals with a reduced dose of Brucella abortus S19 vaccine to control brucellosis on dairy farms in endemic areas of India.

Bovine brucellosis is an economically important disease which seriously affects dairy farming by causing colossal losses. It can be controlled by practicing vaccination of animals with Brucella abortus S19 vaccine (S19 vaccine). In the present study, adult bovines were vaccinated on seven dairy farms with a reduced dose of S19 vaccine to control brucellosis. Serological screening of adult animals (N = 1,082) by Rose Bengal test (RBT) and ELISA prior to vaccination revealed the presence and absence of brucellosis on five and two farms, respectively. The positive animals (N = 171) were segregated and those which tested negative (N = 911) were vaccinated by conjunctival route with a booster after 4 months. The conjunctival vaccination induced weak antibody response in animals, which vanished within a period of 9 to 12 weeks. Abortion in 12 animals at various stages of pregnancy and post-vaccination was recorded, but none was attributed to S19 vaccine. However, virulent B. abortus was incriminated in six heifers, and the cause of abortion could not be established in six animals. The six aborted heifers perhaps acquired infection through in utero transmission or from the environment which remained undetected until abortion. These findings suggested that vaccination of adult animals with a reduced dose of S19 vaccine by conjunctival route did not produce adverse effects like abortion in pregnant animals and persistent vaccinal antibody titers, which are the major disadvantages of subcutaneous vaccination of adult animals.