Prophylaxis of Bordetella bronchiseptica infection in guinea pigs by intranasal vaccination with live strain ts-S34.

The temperature-sensitive mutant strain, ts-S34, of Bordetella bronchiseptica, which cannot grow at or above the temperature 34 degrees C, has been studied in guinea pigs. The strain grew to moderate numbers in the nasal turbinates but did not grow in the lungs. Guinea pigs given strain ts-S34 developed moderate levels of serum antibody. This strain also induced very high resistance to subsequent intranasal challenge with 4,000X the 50% lethal dose of virulent strain S1 of B. bronchiseptica. In these studies, it appeared that the ts-S34 strain had favorable properties for potential use as a live attenuated vaccine.