title: A diagnostic protocol to identify water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) vaccinated with Brucella abortus strain RB51 vaccine.
abstract: The use of live vaccine strain RB51 for vaccination of domestic water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) at risk of infection with Brucella abortus is permitted notwithstanding the plans for the eradication and only under strict veterinary control. The antibodies induced by RB51 vaccination are not detectable using conventional diagnostic techniques; therefore, it is necessary to have a specific diagnostic tool able to discriminate vaccinated from unvaccinated animals. The combination of a complement fixation test (CFT) with specific RB51 antigen (RB51-CFT) and a brucellin skin test has been demonstrated to be a reliable diagnostic system to identify single cattle (Bos taurus) vaccinated with RB51. So far, no data are available in the international scientific literature regarding the use of this test association in water buffalo. For this reason the suitability of this test combination has been evaluated in a water buffalo herd. One hundred twenty-seven animals farmed in a herd of Salerno province (Campania, Southern Italy), in the context of a presumptive unauthorized use of RB51 vaccine were chosen for this study. All tested animals resulted negative to Rose Bengal test (RBT) and complement fixation test (CFT) used for the detection of specific antibodies against Brucella field strains. Seventy-one animals (56%) developed RB51 antigen-specific CFT (RB51-CFT) antibodies against RB51 vaccine in a first sampling, while 104 animals (82%) gave positive result to a second serum sampling conducted 11 days after the intradermal inoculation of the RB51 brucellin. One hundred and seven animals (84%) showed a positive reaction to the RB51-CFT in at least 1 sampling, while 111 animals (87%) resulted positive to the RB51 brucellin skin test. Thus, analysing the results of the 3 testing in parallel, 119 animals (94%) were positive to at least 1 of the performed tests. The results suggest that the use in parallel of the RB51 brucellin skin test with RB51-CFT may represent a reliable diagnostic system to identify water buffaloes vaccinated with RB51 vaccine.
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilatttico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise 'G. Caporale', OIE Reference Laboratory for Brucellosis, Campo Boario, 64100 Teramo, Italy.
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tittarelli
authors.forename: Marcello
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Atzeni
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Calistri
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Di Giannatale
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ferri
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Marchi
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martucciello
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: De Massis
mesh_terms: D000034:Abortion, Veterinary / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D002004:Brucella Vaccine; D002003:Brucella abortus / Q000145:classification / Q000276:immunology*; D002020:Buffaloes; D005260:Female; D012882:Skin Tests
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D002004:Brucella Vaccine; C005641:brucellin