Vaccination of cattle against tropical theileriosis in Uzbekistan using autochthonous live vaccine.

Abstract

In Uzbekistan, 1984 cattle were vaccinated with the TAU-219 autochthonous live Theileria annulata vaccine under field conditions. There were no post-vaccination reactions recorded in calves vaccinated with 10 times the recommended dose, under semi-field conditions. After vaccination 53.9% of the vaccinates developed fever over 39.5 degrees C that lasted for a few days, but none developed clinical theileriosis or required drug treatment during the 3-week follow-up. The numbers of animals in which piroplasms were detected before and after vaccination were similar (7.15% and 7.25%, respectively), indicating previous exposure to T. annulata tick infection. Following vaccination none of the 241 pregnant cows aborted. Milk production during 30-45 days was similar in non-vaccinated and vaccinated cows, at about 5.2-5.9L/day. During 1999-2006 a total of 11,000 field-grazing cattle were safely vaccinated in Uzbekistan.