Induction of CD4 T cell memory responses following BCG vaccination in cattle.

, the causative agent of bovine tuberculosis (bTB), is a zoonotic pathogen that contributes to economic losses in the cattle industry and poses a public health risk worldwide. Bacillus Calmette-Guerin, or BCG, is a live attenuated strain of that is used for human vaccination against tuberculosis and is considered a potential vaccine candidate against bTB. However, BCG affords widely variable levels of protection against challenge and interferes with current diagnostic methods, and as such, it is not currently approved for use as a livestock or wildlife vaccine in the United States.

Pathogen Detection in Early Phases of Experimental Bovine Tuberculosis.

Bovine tuberculosis is caused by , a member of the complex of mycobacterial species that cause tuberculosis in humans and animals. Diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis has relied on examinations of cell-mediated immune responses to proteins using tuberculin skin testing and/or interferon gamma release assays. Even when using these methods, disease detection during the earliest phases of infection has been difficult, allowing a window for cattle-to-cattle transmission to occur within a herd.

Characterization of the adaptive cellular and humoral immune responses to persistent colonization of strain RB51 in a Jersey cow.

strain RB51 is the commercial cattle vaccine used in the United States (US) and many parts of the world against bovine brucellosis. RB51 was licensed for use in 1996, and it has been shown to be safe and efficacious in cattle, eliciting humoral and cellular responses in calves and adult animals. In 2017, an epidemiological trace-back investigation performed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identified human cases of brucellosis caused by infection with RB51.

An injectable subunit vaccine containing Elongation Factor Tu and Heat Shock Protein 70 partially protects American bison from infection.

() is the etiologic agent of high mortality epizootics of chronic respiratory disease in American bison (). Despite the severity of the disease, no efficacious commercial vaccines have been licensed for the prevention of infection in bison. Elongation factor thermal unstable (EFTu) and Heat Shock Protein 70 (Hsp70, ) are highly conserved, constitutively expressed proteins that have previously been shown to provide protection against infection in cattle.

Persistence of viral RNA in North American elk experimentally infected with an ancestral strain of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) have emerged as a reservoir host for SARS-CoV-2 given their susceptibility to infection and demonstrated high rates of seroprevalence and infection across the United States. As SARS-CoV-2 circulates within free-ranging white-tailed deer populations, there is the risk of transmission to other wildlife species and even back to the human population. The goal of this study was to determine the susceptibility, shedding, and immune response of North American elk (Cervus elaphus canadensis) to experimental infection with SARS-CoV-2, to determine if another wide-ranging cervid species could potentially serve as a reservoir host for the virus.

Corrigendum: Fecal and vaginal microbiota of vaccinated and non-vaccinated pregnant elk challenged with .

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2024.

Fecal and vaginal microbiota of vaccinated and non-vaccinated pregnant elk challenged with .

Introduction: is the causative agent of brucellosis in cattle and in humans, resulting in economic losses in the agricultural sector and representing a major threat to public health. Elk populations in the American Northwest are reservoirs for this bacterium and transmit the agent to domestic cattle herds. One potential strategy to mitigate the transmission of brucellosis by elk is vaccination of elk populations against ; however, elk appear to be immunologically distinct from cattle in their responses to current vaccination strategies.

Genomic regions associated with pseudorabies virus infection status in naturally infected feral swine ().

Pseudorabies virus (PRV)-the causative agent of Aujeszky's disease-was eliminated from commercial pig production herds in the United States (US) in 2004; however, PRV remains endemic among invasive feral swine (). The circulation of PRV among abundant, widespread feral swine populations poses a sustained risk for disease spillover to production herds. Risk-based surveillance has been successfully implemented for PRV in feral swine populations in the US.

Vaccination of White-Tailed Deer with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG): Effect of ssp. Infection.

In many parts of the world, bovine tuberculosis eradication efforts are hampered by wildlife reservoirs of , which serve as a constant source of for nearby cattle. The human tuberculosis vaccine, BCG has been investigated for use in several wildlife species, including deer. In the US, white-tailed deer in Michigan have been the source of infection for over 82 cattle herds since was discovered in free-ranging deer in 1995.

Wildlife Immune Responses to Mycobacterium bovis and to Bacille of Calmette-Guerin.

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a zoonotic bacterial disease presenting public health, veterinary, and economic threats around the globe. Although cattle producers rely on regular testing and management practices to minimize domestic herd exposure, wildlife species around the world continue to be the main reservoirs for disease. Wildlife reservoirs for bTB include the Eurasian badger (Meles meles) in Great Britain and Ireland, the brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) in New Zealand, wild boar (Sus scrofa) in Spain, as well as white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in the United States and red deer (Cervus elaphus) in Spain.

Effects of concurrent administration of modified live viral vaccines with RB51 on immune responses to RB51.

is a gram negative, zoonotic pathogen that can cause abortions and stillbirths in the cattle industry and has contributed to significant economic losses to cow-calf producers. Cell mediated immunity (CMI) is an important component of the immune response associated with protection against and other intracellular pathogens. Brucellosis and viral modified live vaccines (vMLV) are licensed individually but may be used concurrently under field conditions.

Pulmonary hamartoma in an elk calf.

Hamartomas are benign tumor-like lesions composed of disorganized growth of mature mesenchymal or epithelial tissues indigenous to the organ involved. Sporadically observed in ruminants, vascular, fibrous, nasal, and pulmonary hamartomas have been reported in calves; pulmonary and cutaneous forms have been reported in sheep. A full-term elk calf found dead had a large intrathoracic mass replacing the left caudal lung lobe and compressing other thoracic organs.

From Deer-to-Deer: SARS-CoV-2 is efficiently transmitted and presents broad tissue tropism and replication sites in white-tailed deer.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in humans, has a broad host range, and is able to infect domestic and wild animal species. Notably, white-tailed deer (WTD, Odocoileus virginianus), the most widely distributed cervid species in the Americas, were shown to be highly susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 in challenge studies and reported natural infection/exposure rates approaching 30-40% in free-ranging WTD in the U.S.

The Bovine Tuberculoid Granuloma.

The bovine tuberculoid granuloma is the hallmark lesion of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) due to infection. The pathogenesis of bTB, and thereby the process of bovine tuberculoid granuloma development, involves the recruitment, activation, and maintenance of cells under the influence of antigen, cytokines and chemokines in affected lungs and regional lymph nodes. The granuloma is key to successful control of bTB by preventing pathogen dissemination through containment by cellular and fibrotic layers.

Immune Responses and Efficacy of Abortus Strain RB51 in Bison After Delivery in a Dry Dart Formulation or by Parenteral Inoculation.

Bison () heifer calves (n = 32) were randomly assigned to control or vaccination with 10 colony-forming units of strain RB51 (RB51) vaccine by single or boostered parenteral delivery, or by surgical implantation of a dry dart formulation ( = 8/trt). Serum and/or peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were obtained at 0, 4, 8, 13, 16, 21, and 24 wks after initial vaccination and at 0, 4, 8, 12, 15, 22, and 27 wks after booster vaccination to characterize humoral and cellular immune responses to RB51. Bison in both RB51 vaccination treatments demonstrated greater ( < 0.

Enhanced Detection of -Specific T Cells in Experimentally-Infected Cattle.

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB), caused by infection with , continues to be a major economic burden associated with production losses and a public health concern due to its zoonotic nature. As with other intracellular pathogens, cell-mediated immunity plays an important role in the control of infection. Characterization of such responses is important for understanding the immune status of the host, and to identify mechanisms of protective immunity or immunopathology.

Heterogeneity of Pulmonary Granulomas in Cattle Experimentally Infected With .

is the cause of tuberculosis in most animals, most notably cattle. The stereotypical lesion of bovine tuberculosis is the granuloma; a distinct morphological lesion where host and pathogen interact and disease outcome (i.e.

Mucosal IFNγ production and potential role in protection in Escherichia coli O157:H7 vaccinated and challenged cattle.

Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 (O157)-based vaccines can provide a potential intervention strategy to limit foodborne zoonotic transmission of O157. While the peripheral antibody response to O157 vaccination has been characterized, O157-specific cellular immunity at the rectoanal junction (RAJ), a preferred site for O157 colonization, remains poorly described. Vaccine induced mucosal O157-specific antibodies likely provide some protection, cellular immune responses at the RAJ may also play a role in protection.

Quantification of population structure in a natural host.

Cattle are natural hosts of the intracellular pathogen , which inflicts a significant burden on the health and reproduction of these important livestock. The primary routes of infection in field settings have been described, but it is not known how the bovine host shapes the structure of populations during infection. We utilized a library of uniquely barcoded strains to temporally and spatially quantify population structure during colonization of cattle through a natural route of infection.

Applications of Nanovaccines for Disease Prevention in Cattle.

Vaccines are one of the most important tools available to prevent and reduce the incidence of infectious diseases in cattle. Despite their availability and widespread use to combat many important pathogens impacting cattle, several of these products demonstrate variable efficacy and safety in the field, require multiple doses, or are unstable under field conditions. Recently, nanoparticle-based vaccine platforms (nanovaccines) have emerged as promising alternatives to more traditional vaccine platforms.

Influence of species of negative control sera on results of a brucellosis fluorescence polarization assay.

We evaluated serologic responses of cattle, bison, elk, and swine representing negative control, early vaccination (4-8 wk), late vaccination (21-28 wk) or booster vaccination, early after-experimental challenge (2-4 wk), and late after-experimental challenge (8-21 wk), in a brucellosis fluorescence polarization assay (FPA; = 10 sera per species per treatment) using negative control sera from cattle, bison, elk, and swine ( = 5 per species). Sera from cattle shedding strain RB51 in milk were also evaluated against the 20 negative control sera. The species of negative control sera used in the FPA could increase ( < 0.

Severity of bovine tuberculosis is associated with innate immune-biased transcriptional signatures of whole blood in early weeks after experimental Mycobacterium bovis infection.

Mycobacterium bovis, the causative agent of bovine tuberculosis, is a pathogen that impacts both animal and human health. Consequently, there is a need to improve understanding of disease dynamics, identification of infected animals, and characterization of the basis of immune protection. This study assessed the transcriptional changes occurring in cattle during the early weeks following a M.

Enhancing the Detection of -Specific CD4 T Cell Responses in Cattle via Antigenic Expansion and Restimulation.

Bovine brucellosis, cause by infection with , causes reproductive failure in cattle, has a major economic impact to producers, and as a zoonoses, it is a disease of public health concern. Characterization of the protective immune response against infection is important to our understanding of disease pathogenesis and for the development of diagnostic assays and vaccines. Most of the knowledge regarding protection against comes from studies in the murine model, but less is known about the immune responses in cattle.

Case Report: Fading Elk Syndrome in a Herd of Captive Elk () in the North American Midwest.

Fading elk syndrome, or chronic ill-thrift of elk, is a disease associated with abomasal parasitism with species, of which elk appear to be particularly susceptible. While this syndrome has been extensively reported to affect wapiti-type red deer hybrids farmed in New Zealand since the mid 1980's, there is only a single report of this disease in North America. Here, we report a case of fading elk syndrome in a herd of 34 elk () in Ames, Iowa, at the National Animal Disease Center.

Tulathromycin treatment does not affect bacterial dissemination or clearance of Brucella melitensis 16M following experimental infection of goats.

Brucellosis in sheep and goats, a zoonotic disease primarily associated with Brucella melitensis infections, causes significant economic losses and public health concerns worldwide. Although control measures are effective, economic limitations and nomadic lifestyles may limit vaccination coverage, and test and removal policies may not be feasible. In this study, we evaluated the effects of therapy with a long acting antimicrobial tulathromycin on the pathogenesis of brucellosis.