Review on the experience with live attenuated vaccines against tropical theileriosis in Tunisia: considerations for the present and implications for the future.

The choice of a vaccine candidate against tropical theileriosis was based on key epidemiological considerations inherent to the main target endemic situation in Tunisia. One of the attenuated cell lines was retained as a vaccine candidate on the basis of small-scale trials testing the intrinsic safety aspects of the vaccine for the targeted animal categories in the dominant endemic situation where it will be used. The vaccine efficacy was confirmed in pilot vaccination campaigns using fresh culture and thawed cryopreserved vaccine doses delivered to the field using a new delivery system not requiring a cold chain. The potential benefit of the live attenuated Tunisian vaccine was evaluated using simple economical models.