Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Leishmune vaccine protects dogs from visceral leishmaniasis in Brazil
By Borja-Cabrera, G P et al.·Published in Vaccine·2008·Instituto de Microbiologia, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Immunogenicity assay of the Leishmune vaccine against canine visceral leishmaniasis in Brazil.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study in Brazil found that the Leishmune vaccine can protect dogs from canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL), a serious disease spread by sand flies. In a trial with over 550 healthy dogs, the vaccine showed a strong immune response, with 98% of vaccinated dogs remaining asymptomatic after one year and 99% healthy after two years. In comparison, untreated dogs had much lower survival rates. The vaccine not only protects the dogs but also helps prevent the spread of the disease, making it a promising option for controlling CVL outbreaks.
People also search for: dog leishmaniasis vaccine · Leishmune vaccine efficacy · preventing canine visceral leishmaniasis · symptoms of leishmaniasis in dogs · dog vaccination for sand fly disease
Abstract
Leishmune is the industrialized version of the FML-saponin vaccine which has been shown to develop 92-95% protection in vaccinated dogs and 76-80% vaccine efficacy against field canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) in Brazil. Leishmune has been proven to be safe and tolerable and a transmission-blocking vaccine which renders vaccinated dogs non-infectious to sand fly vectors. In the present investigation, 550 healthy seronegative dogs of endemic and epidemic areas of Brazil were monitored for Leishmune-induced immunogenicity during a 2-year trial. Another group of 588 untreated exposed dogs was also studied in parallel. Both groups were seronegative on day 0. The strong immunogenicity induced by Leishmune vaccine was demonstrated by the 98% of FML-seroconversion, increase in absorbencies, the 82.7% DTH positive reactions and increase in skin test size diameters, the average increase in CD8+ total lymphocytes population in blood (27.1%), expected for QS21 saponin-containing vaccine, the sustained proportions of CD4+ T cells, and the average increased proportions of CD21+ B lymphocytes (42.3%). The Leishmune-induced protection against CVL is demonstrated by the results: 98.8% asymptomatic dogs (at the end of first year) and 99% healthy survivors (at the end of the second year) among vaccinated dogs, compared to the 79.4% asymptomatic and 61% survivor dogs (p<0.001) monitored in the untreated exposed cohort. In spite of the low vaccine coverage, it was possible to detect a 66.1% (p<0.005) reduction in Belo Horizonte and an 80.2% (p<0.005) reduction in Araçatuba of the incidence of CVL among vaccinated dogs, when compared to the global incidence of CVL of each town, respectively. Our preliminary results support the potential use of Leishmune to prevent CVL epidemics.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18675868/