[Seromonitoring of laboratory mouse and rat colonies for common murine pathogens (author's transl)]

During a period from 1973 to 1978, 392 and 225 lots including 12,232 mouse and 8,044 rat individual sera, respectively, were examined for antibodies to murine hepatitis virus, Sendai virus, Bordetella bronchiseptica, Mycoplasma pulmonis, Tyzzer agents, Salmonella typhimurium and Corynebacterium kutscheri. Of mouse lots 94.5% and 39.3% from breeder and user colonies, respectively, were negative for all antibodies examined as well as 31.6% and 17.2% of rat breeder and user colonies, respectively. Among positive lots from mouse users, high positivity rates were seen with Senai virus (47.6%), M. pulmonis (19.0%), and murine hepatitis virus (JHM : 18.2%, MHV : 31.0%), while the rates were high in rat user lots with Sendai virus (24.4%), B. bronchiseptica (39.3%) M. pulmonis (12.5%), murine coronaviruses (JHM : 19.0%, MHV-2 : 28.0%) and tyzzer agents (MSK : 19.6%, RT : 17.9%). These pathogenes with high positivities should be monitored indispensably as a quality control of laboratory mice and rats.

Efficacy of Bordetella bronchiseptica bacterin in controlling enzootic atrophic rhinitis in swine

The efficacy of a Bordetella bronchiseptica bacterin was evaluated in 2 commercial swine herds affected with mild and severe enzootic atrophic rhinitis (AR). In the 1st herd study, (mild AR), the degree of clinical AR, nasal turbinate evaluation, blood serum titer to B bronchiseptica antigen, and adjusted days from birth to 100 kg were determined for individual pigs. Bacterin inoculation reduced the incidence and severity of gross turbinate atrophy 57% and reduced clinical AR over 93%. Inoculated swine had an average blood serum-agglutinating titer greater than 1:2,793 and noninoculated (control) swine had an average titer of 1:112. Increased serum titer significantly (P less than 0.05) correlated with decreased degree of nasal turbinate atrophy. Inoculated and control pigs reached 100 kg in an average of 171 and 178 days after birth, respectively. In the 2nd study (severe enzootic AR), inoculated and control pigs were individually evaluated for clinical AR and total average daily weight gain. Inoculation reduced clinical AR over 90%. The total average daily gain for the inoculated and control pits was 435.84 g and 340.50 g, respectively. Inoculated pigs and control pigs reached 100-kg market weight in 184 and 238 days, respectively.

Prophylaxis of Bordetella bronchiseptica infection in guinea pigs by intranasal vaccination with live strain ts-S34

The temperature-sensitive mutant strain, ts-S34, of Bordetella bronchiseptica, which cannot grow at or above the temperature 34 degrees C, has been studied in guinea pigs. The strain grew to moderate numbers in the nasal turbinates but did not grow in the lungs. Guinea pigs given strain ts-S34 developed moderate levels of serum antibody. This strain also induced very high resistance to subsequent intranasal challenge with 4,000X the 50% lethal dose of virulent strain S1 of B. bronchiseptica. In these studies, it appeared that the ts-S34 strain had favorable properties for potential use as a live attenuated vaccine.

Vaccination against canine bordetellosis using an aluminum hydroxide adjuvant vaccine

Six collie dogs, eight weeks old, were inoculated intramuscularly with an aluminium hydroxide adjuvanted preparation of killed Bordetella bronchiseptica; the inoculation was repeated after two weeks. Two weeks after the second inoculation, the vaccinated dogs and a comparable group of six unvaccinated animals were challenged by exposure to an aerosol of pathogenic B bronchiseptica. All six unvaccinated control dogs developed respiratory disease characterised by persistent coughing. In contrast, four of the vaccinated dogs remained free from clinical respiratory disease while, in the other two dogs, disease was less severe and of shorter duration than in controls. At necropsy, there were only slight changes in the lungs of vaccinated dogs but in controls there was a severe tracheobronchitis with areas of exudative pneumonia. Bacteriological examination showed a marked reduction in the numbers of B bronchiseptica isolated from the respiratory tract of vaccinated animals compared with controls. An aluminium hydroxide adjuvant vaccine may be of value in controlling naturally occurring respiratory disease in dogs in which B bronchiseptica is involved.

An agglutination test for the detection of Bordetella bronchiseptica infection in swine

An agglutination test with the use of formalin-killed antigen of the cell carrying the capsule was developed and used for the detection of antibody in swine naturally infected with Bordetella bronchiseptica. Under optimum antigen concentration and reaction temperature 210 or 60% of 342 serum samples tested from 42 conventional swine herds were positive for Bordetella infection. In contrast, only 34 or 10% of 342 nasal swabs from the same animals were positive for Bordetella by culture technique. The test was relatively free of cross-reactivity to related organism. However, 2.7 and 13.0% of sera from growing pigs and mature hogs, respectively, reacted with antigen of Pasteurella multocida. Because of this, only agglutinin reactions in 1:20 dilutions or higher to Bordetella were considered positive. The bulk of the antibody activity of selected sera tested from various age ranges of swine was mercaptoethanol sensitive, suggesting that serum antibody in Bordetella infection may be associated with immunoglobulin IgM. Because of the high agglutinability and stability of formalin-killed antigen the test may be useful as an auxiliary aid for the diagnosis of Bordetella infection where the organism cannot be identified by culture means.

Vaccination against Bordetella bronchiseptica infection in dogs using a heat-killed bacterial vaccine

A group of eight-week-old dogs was inoculated with a heat-killed suspension of Bordetella bronchiseptica by the intramuscular route on two occasions at an interval of two weeks. All vaccinated animals developed high circulating agglutinin titres by two weeks after the second inoculation at which time the vaccinated dogs and a comparable group of unvaccinated animals were challenged by exposure to an aerosol of live B bronchiseptica. Both vaccinated and unvaccinated dogs subsequently developed clinical respiratory disease characterised by persistent coughing but the onset of disease in vaccinated animals was delayed by up to five days when compared with the controls. B bronchiseptica was isolated from the nasal cavity, tracheobronchial tree and lung parenchyma of vaccinated and control dogs.

Vaccination against canine bordetellosis: protection from contact challenge

Eight collie-cross pups, eight weeks old, were inoculated intramuscularly with an aluminum hydroxide adjuvanted preparation of killed Bordetella bronchiseptica; the inoculation was repeated after two weeks. Two weeks after the second inoculation, the vaccinated dogs and a control group of four unvaccinated animals were placed in contact with a group of five pups of similar age which had been experimentally infected with a pathogenic strain of B bronchiseptica by an aerosol method. All four unvaccinated control dogs as well as all five experimentally infected dogs developed a respiratory disease characterised by persistent coughing. Six of the vaccinated dogs remained free from clinical respiratory disease while disease was less severe and of shorter duration in the remaining two than in controls. Only slight changes were found in the lungs of vaccinated animals at necropsy while in the controls there was a severe tracheobronchitis. There was a marked reduction in the numbers of B bronchiseptica isolated from the respiratory tract of vaccinated animals when compared with controls. An aluminium hydroxide adjuvanted vaccine may be of value in controlling naturally occurring canine respiratory disease in which B bronchiseptica is involved.

Bordetella rhinitis in pigs: serum and nasal antibody response to Bordetella bacterins

The nasal and serum antibody response of two groups of pigs, vaccinated with adjuvant containing formalinized or sonicated Bordetella bronchiseptica bacterins was compared with the response of a nonvaccinated group. The tube agglutination test was used to determine agglutinin titers. Following vaccination, all pigs were challenged intranasally with the vaccine strain of Bordetella, after which the nasal Bordetella flora of vaccinated and nonvaccinated pigs was investigated. Sera and nasal secretions from both vaccinated groups exhibited markedly higher agglutinin titers than the control group and serum titers were higher than those in nasal secretions. No differences in agglutinating antibody response were evident between the two vaccines. Serum antibody titers exceeded nasal titers and persisted over a longer period of time. Systemic vaccination resulted in an increased nasal clearance of the vaccine strain by the groups of pigs vaccinated with sonicated or formalined bacterin, whereas no such clearance was evident in the nonvaccinated control group.

Mouse potency assay for Bordetella bronchiseptica bacterins

A potency assay for Bordetella bronchiseptica bacterins has been developed using mice. The immunogenicities of three bacterins, B, C, and D, were evaluated for ability to prevent death in mice as compared with a reference standard bacterin (RSB-A). Bacterins RSB-A, B, and C were evaluated for ability to prevent death in mice as compared with a reference standard bacterin (RSB-A). Bacterins RSB-A, B, and C were evaluated in swine for efficacy against nasal turbinate atrophy. Swine immunized with RSB-A demonstrated 25% gross nasal turbinate atrophy (GNTA), whereas nonimmunized swine had 85% GNTA. Swine vaccinated with bacterins B and C demonstrated 0 and 100% GNTA, respectively, whereas the nonimmunized groups had 64 and 75% GNTA, respectively. RSB-A and bacterins B, C, and D provided average mouse survivals of 94, 88, 49, and 32%, respectively when the mice were given 1/10,000 of a recommended swine-immunizing dose, whereas an average of 88% of the unvaccinated mice died.

Vaccination with Bordetella bronchiseptica vaccine on a farm with atrophic rhinitis: an evaluation of a field experiment

On a farm where Atrophic rhinitis (AR) occurred the animals were vaccinated with a Bordetella bronchiseptica vaccine. The immune state of the sows was checked and also the effect of this vaccination on the antibody titre of the piglets. Groups of pregnant sows were vaccinated once or twice before the partus, another group of sows only had their piglets vaccinated and a third group were used as control. The serum titres of the sows were low, not higher than 1:100 before vaccination. A double vaccination of the pregnant sows induced the piglets to produce antibodies in a sufficiently high titre during the first 7 weeks of life. Vaccination only against Bordetella bronchiseptica did not protect the piglets against AR. Piglets of the vaccinated sows showed two types of titre progress. It is not recommended to vaccinate the piglets only. The rapid plate agglutination was found extremely useful for the early diagnosis of Bordetella bronchiseptica infection.

The serology of Bordetella bronchiseptica isolated from pigs compared with strains from other animal species

The serology of freshly isolated strains of Bordetella bronchiseptica from pigs and some other animal species was studied by the agglutination and agglutinin absorption tests. Differentiation was made between heat stable O-antigens and heat labile K-antigens. All the strains examined contained a common O-antigen (1). In addition, three heat stable antigens were detected. The heat labile antigens of freshly isolated strains were found to be very different. The major antigens 2 and 3 were not found in combination. A common weak K-antigen (1) was found in all strains. The pig strains were found to be serologically identical (0, 1, 2; K 1, 2). The same serotype was isolated from a rabbit. Another rabbit strain was found to be similar to a strain isolated from an SPF-rat (O, 1, 3; K 1, 3, 4). The antigenic pattern found in two cat strains was O 1, 3; K 1, 3. Typing of freshly isolated strains from pigs with monospecific factor sera confirmed that all the strains so far examined were serologically identical. This uniform serology hampers epidemiological studies of porcine bordetellosis by antigenic analysis. The occurrence of serologically different serotypes of B. bronchiseptica is of significance in the diagnostic bacteriology since the final diagnosis must be confirmed by a serological test.

Pertussis

Pertussis as an infectious disease exhibits a number of unusual features, both with respect to its epidemiology and to the interaction of the bacteia with the infected host. Evidence that a virus may in some cases be the etiology of the syndrome has been reviewed and seems to be have been established in certain instances. Pertussis caused by a virus would not be difficult to accept insofar as the respiratory manifestations of the disease are concerned. It is difficult, however, to reconcile the hematologic changes of pertussis with what is presently known about the usual virus infection of humans. The clinical syndrome itself is suficiently unique as to be recognized in most cases. The use of antibiotics has considerably reduced the mortality of the disease by allowing treatment of complications. The other serious complication of disease, pertussis encephalopathy, remains a problem. The possible occurrence of hypoglycemia during pertussis has been noted and deserves further documentation especially in that it may contribute to the encephalopathy...

Taxonomic distribution of the antigen eliciting bactericidal antibody for Bordetella pertussis

Strains of Bordetella pertussis varied in their ability to elicit (in mice) an antibody bactericidal for an antiserum-sensitive strain of B. pertussis, although antibody was usually detectable after only one injection. High titres were produced by a course of seven injections with all strains of B. pertussis tested (six of phase I and three of phase IV) but not with three strains of other Bordetella species nor with two unrelated organisms, a finding of possible taxonomic value. Preliminary investigations have not revealed whether strain vaiations are due to quantitative or qualitative differences in either the bacterial lipopolysaccharide or the carrier protein necessary for antibody production, or whether they may be due to differences in heat lability of 'bactericidal antigen'.

Bordetella agglutinating antibody in swine. A herd survey

An agglutination test with killed Bordetella bronchiseptica, suspended in 0.85% saline, standardized photometrically to contain approximately 20 billion microorganisms per ml as antigen, was used to detect naturally-occurring antibody against this bacterium in the sera of 451 pigs ranging in age from one month to over 36 months. Agglutinating antibody was demonstrated in 32.8% of 201 sera of pigs one to six months old, 61.5% of 52 pigs six to 12 months old, 83.8% of 62 pigs 13 to 18 months old, 92.3% of 39 pigs 19 to 24 months old and 100% of 97 adults older than 24 months. Nasal swab cultures did not reliably detect the carrier state of subclinically infected pigs, however, detection of agglutinating antibody against B. bronchiseptica may be useful for diagnosing infection in swine herds.

Histamine-sensitizing factor, mouse-protective antigens, and other antigens of some members of the genus Bordetella

The three species of the genus Bordetella-B. pertussis, B. parapertussis, and B. bronchiseptica-have many antigens in common. Studies on representative strains of these species have shown that there are only a few specific antigens in each species. Whole-cell vaccines and extracts from B. pertussis contained specific mouse-protective antigen and a histamine-sensitizing factor. In addition, whole-cell vaccines and some saline extracts protected mice against intracranial challenge with B. bronchiseptica. Cells and a saline extract of B. parapertussis also protected against B. bronchiseptica but not against B. pertussis. Whole cells of B. bronchiseptica protected against B. bronchiseptica, but only one of three saline extracts protected against this challenge. Neither whole cells nor saline extracts from B. bronchiseptica protected against B. pertussis. The antigen in B. pertussis responsible for cross-protection against B. bronchiseptica was less resistant to heat than the protective antigen in B. bronchiseptica. Since histamine-sensitizing factor was not detected in B. bronchiseptica or B. parapertussis cells or extracts, this factor is not required to protect mice against B. bronchiseptica challenge. Whether B. pertussis vaccines protected against B. bronchiseptica by a nonspecific mechanism was not established, but it is clear that the specific antigen responsible for protection against B. pertussis was found only in B. pertussis and not in B. bronchiseptica or B. parapertussis.

The effect of the addition of Bordetella parapertussis suspensions on the protective power of the pertusis component of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccines

The addition of a parapertussis component to diphtheria–tetanus–pertussis vaccine reduces the agglutinogenic potency of the pertussis component in mice. The loss is evident when the amount of the parapertussis component added is 25% of that of the pertussis component, while the influence of relatively lower amounts of parapertussis organisms is less striking.

The parapertussis component in these vaccines, amounting to 2–25% of the pertussis component, does not affect the protective power of the pertussis component in mice.