Emergency vaccination against foot-and-mouth disease: rate of development of immunity and its implications for the carrier state.

Emergency foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccines prepared from antigens held in the International Vaccine Bank at Pirbright were administered to cattle and pigs and the levels of protection were assessed following challenge by contact with infected pigs. Both Al(OH)3/saponin and oil-based cattle vaccines proved to be extremely effective and protected soon after vaccination (4 days postvaccination), whereas the pigs were seldom protected before 21 and 28 days postvaccination, probably due to lower levels of antibody and overwhelming challenge conditions. Early production of cattle occurred in the absence of significant levels of circulating antibody as measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, a neutralization assay and a passive protection test. A large number of the cattle vaccinated with the O1 Lausanne strain of FMD and subsequently challenged with this virus became persistently infected and there appeared to be a correlation with the time interval between vaccination and challenge. When the same cattle were vaccinated approximately 4 months later with a different strain of FMD, C1 Oberbayern, and challenged with this strain, the number of persistently infected animals was considerably lower. The results are discussed in the context of the use of emergency vaccines to prevent the dissemination of FMD from disease foci.