There are several infectious diseases which cause severe economic losses on farms and which are not subject to official eradication programs. Among these is paratuberculosis, a disease that spreads mainly via the fecal-oral route and which mainly affects ruminants such as goats, sheep, cows or deer.
The development of a new vaccine to combat paratuberculosis is essential, because current commercial vaccines for cattle are only allowed in some countries as they interfere with the diagnosis of other diseases such as tuberculosis, which is subject to strict controls. In this context, the technology center NEIKERa member of the Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), developed within the project THE TESTSan oral vaccine for the treatment of paratuberculosis in this animal species.
“The way the vaccine is administered is really important because the current ones are inoculated subcutaneously and mycobacteria are mainly transmitted orally. Using the same route as natural infection is generally more effective. Furthermore, in this case we have verified that the administration of this vaccine or even some probiotics also tested through the animal’s mouth does not cause any interference with the diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis “, explains Dr. Natalia Elguezabal, researcher at the Department of NEIKER Animal Health who led the project.
Similarly, the technology center was able to observe that this vaccine has another very important advantage, as it is able to stimulate the animal’s immune system, while increasing its antimicrobial functions against other bacteria that affect livestock. These findings reinforce the idea that vaccination against paratuberculosis can serve to protect these animals from other diseases early in their life.
Benefits for people
Livestock farmers are the ones who suffer most from the consequences of this type of disease, as they generate large losses due to production losses, as well as the need to slaughter sick animals early as there is no cure. Specifically, and from an economic point of view, each new clinical case can involve a cost of up to 1,500 euros.
“From what we have been able to verify in our studies, thanks to this new vaccine it is possible that farmers can see an improvement in the health of their animals in general, not only against paratuberculosis, but also against other bacterial infections on the farm” , says Elguezabal.
Food safety is another advantage of using this new vaccine, as if animals are vaccinated they will suffer fewer diseases, ensuring their well-being, and producing safe and healthy food. On the other hand, the bacterium that causes paratuberculosis has been associated with several diseases that affect humans and were considered autoimmune, such as Crohn’s disease, a condition that shares similarities with paratuberculosis.
This disease, which causes severe disorders in affected people, has been the most studied and with which there is a strong link, since, like paratuberculosis, Crohn’s disease is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease, which causes intermittent foci of pain. abdominal, diarrhea and weight loss. “The link between the bacterium that causes ruminant paratuberculosis and Crohn’s disease is not yet fully accepted in the medical community. However, there are more and more indications that this is one of the causes of its emergence ”, concludes Elguezabal.
If the link between the bacteria that cause paratuberculosis and Crohn’s disease is conclusively proven, this prototype vaccine could be of interest as a treatment for these patients.
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