Abstract
Brucellosis is a highly contagious disease during animal abortions due to the created aerosols which may infect animals and humans in the surrounding area. Treatment of animals is not economically feasible, while the drugs to treat human disease are expensive and take a long time. The control of disease is mainly by animal vaccination. Irradiated Brucella melitensis Rev.1 vaccine was produced. Three groups of four animals (total 12) between the ages of 2 and 5 months were vaccinated. One group of ewes received the irradiated vaccine; a second group was vaccinated with live B. melitensis Rev.1, and the control group remained unvaccinated. Samples were collected twice a week and checked for humoral and cellular immunity using RBPT, cElisa, iElisa, cytokine Elisa, flow cytometry and RT-qPCR. The animals were challenged 18 months post- vaccination by being housed with infected sheep and goats (contact transmission). In addition, samples were collected during the challenge trial and checked for humoral immunity using RBPT, SAT and cElisa and iElisa. Bacterial isolation was also conducted using PCR to identify genus and species. Cytokine analysis is ongoing. B. melitensis Rev.1 irradiated vaccine was produced and was showed no growth and good metabolic activity. All animals vaccinated using live B. melitensis Rev.1 vaccine were serologically positivefor brucellosis, while the other two groups remained negative. Furthermore qPCR and flow cytometry investigation indicated elevation of cytokines in the two groups that received either the live or irradiated vaccines, whereas unvaccinated animals indicated stable cytokine levels. The challenge trial of the vaccinated animals caused gradual appearance of brucellosis antibodies in the two vaccinated animal groups. The animal experiment was implemented using three groups of ewes; one unvaccinated as the negative control; one vaccinated using live B. melitensis Rev.1, and one vaccinated using irradiated B. melitensis Rev.1. All immunity monitoring results of the tested animal groups were compatible with the expected response when vaccinated with an efficient vaccine.
