Evaluation of important aspects of the efficacy of inactivated and live attenuated lumpy skin disease vaccines for cattle

Last updated on 14-12-2022 by Pierre Daubresse

Project duration:

November 15, 2016

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November 14, 2018

In short

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a devastating viral disease in cattle. It disproportionately affects poor small-scale farmers in developing countries, as their cattle are a direct source of income (selling the animal’s hides and milk) and a source of nutrition (meat and milk) and traction for cultivating the land. Sciensano tests, compares and evaluates LSD vaccines in order to provide affordable, safe and efficacious vaccines for these farmers.

Project description

Comparing the duration of immunity and protection of currently available attenuated and inactivated LSD vaccines:
vaccinated cattle are challenged with LSD virus at different time points post-vaccination: at 6 months (m), 12m and 18m. Unvaccinated control animals are used as challenge controls. Animals are clinically scored and blood samples are used for detection of virus, humoral and cell mediated immunity. Potential secretion of the virus is determined using buccal swabs. All results are used to determine the clinical protection index (PI).
In vivo evaluation of improved LSD based inactivated vaccines:
a new inactivated LSD vaccine has been developed by MCI Santé Animale in Morocco. The efficacy and safety of this newly developed vaccine after single and booster vaccination will be compared with currently available attenuated and inactivated vaccines in a vaccination-challenge experiment as described above.