title: A two year BTV-8 vaccination follow up: molecular diagnostics and assessment of humoral and cellular immune reactions.
abstract: The compulsory vaccination campaign against Bluetongue virus serotype eight (BTV-8) in Germany was exercised in the state of Bavaria using three commercial monovalent inactivated vaccines given provisional marketing authorisation for emergency use. In eleven Bavarian farms representing a cross sectional area of the state the immune reactions of sheep and cattle were followed over a two year period (2008-2009) using cELISA, a serum neutralisation test (SNT) and interferon gamma (IFN-γ) ELISPOT. For molecular diagnostics of BTV genome presence two recommended real time quantitative RT-PCR protocols were applied. The recommended vaccination scheme led to low or even undetectable antibody titers (ELISA) in serum samples of both cattle and sheep. A fourfold increase of the vaccine dose in cattle, however, induced higher ELISA titers and virus neutralising antibodies. Accordingly, repeated vaccination in sheep caused an increase in ELISA-antibody titers. BTV-8 neutralising antibodies occurred in most animals only after multiple vaccinations in the second year of the campaign. The secretion of interferon gamma (IFN-γ) in ELISPOT after in vitro re-stimulation of PBMC of BTV-8 vaccinated animals with BTV was evaluated in the field for the first time. Sera of BTV-8 infected or vaccinated animals neutralising BTV-8 could also neutralise an Italian BTV serotype 1 cell culture adapted strain and PBMC of such animals secreted IFN-γ when stimulated with BTV-1.
authors.affiliation: Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, 85764 Oberschleissheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hund
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gollnick
authors.forename: Carola
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sauter-Louis
authors.forename: Antonie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Neubauer-Juric
authors.forename: Harald
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lahm
authors.forename: Mathias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Büttner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D001819:Bluetongue / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000821:virology; D001820:Bluetongue virus; D002417:Cattle; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D058501:Enzyme-Linked Immunospot Assay; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005858:Germany; D009500:Neutralization Tests; D057089:Pathology, Molecular; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012756:Sheep / Q000276:immunology; D034561:Sheep, Domestic / Q000276:immunology; D014611:Vaccination / Q000662:veterinary*; D015164:Vaccines, Inactivated / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing; D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D015164:Vaccines, Inactivated