Efficacy of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis bacterin for the immunologic protection of sheep against development of caseous lymphadenitis.

The efficacy of a Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis bacterin to protect sheep immunologically against development of caseous lymphadenitis was evaluated in controlled challenge-exposure experiments. Sixty-three mixed-breed, white-faced lambs were used. The lambs were 10 to 12 weeks old and were randomly assigned to 3 groups (21 lambs/group). Group 1 was vaccinated once, using 2 ml of a C pseudotuberculosis bacterin (given subcutaneously) in the right axillary region at the beginning of the study. Group 2 was vaccinated twice; the 1st vaccination was given at the same time that lambs in group 1 were vaccinated and the 2nd vaccination was given 4 weeks later. Group 3 (nonvaccinated controls) was given physiologic saline solution (2 ml, subcutaneously). Each lamb was challenge exposed (ie, given 2 ml of live Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis inoculum [6 X 10(6) colony-forming units/ml], subcutaneously at 4 different sites) during the 20th week of the study. All lambs were killed and necropsied during week 33. The mean number of abscesses per lamb was 7 for group 1, 4 for group 2, and 32 for group 3. Significant differences in the size of the abscesses were not found between the groups. Results of the study indicated that the vaccine provided immunologic protection of lambs against challenge exposure to Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis.