Feline bordetellosis: challenge and vaccine studies

Abstract

Four eight-week-old cats, shown to be free from feline calicivirus, feline herpesvirus and Chlamydia psittaci were challenged with an aerosol of Bordetella bronchiseptica. Within five days the cats developed signs of respiratory disease, characterised by nasal discharge, sneezing, spontaneous or induced coughing and dry or wet rales at auscultation. These signs were present for about 10 days, after which they began to resolve. To test the protective capacity of an experimental fimbrial antigen-based subunit vaccine, 10 kittens were vaccinated twice, with two weeks between the vaccinations, and five kittens were left unvaccinated. Two weeks after the booster the 15 kittens were challenged with an aerosol of B bronchiseptica as the sole pathogen. On the day of challenge the vaccinated kittens had a mean bordetella antibody titre of 2(9.5) whereas the control cats remained seronegative (titre < 2(2)). The control cats developed signs of respiratory disease after challenge, whereas the vaccinated cats were almost completely protected. The degrees of protection against rhinitis, sneezing, spontaneous or induced coughing, and dry or wet rales at auscultation were 100 per cent, 95 per cent, 95 per cent and 100 per cent, respectively. Furthermore, the vaccinated kittens cleared the challenge bacteria more quickly than the controls, resulting in a reduction of 80 per cent on days 15 and 18 after challenge and a reduction of 99 per cent on days 22 and 29 after challenge. The results show that B bronchiseptica can act as a primary pathogen in cats and that a vaccine containing the fimbrial antigen induces a protective immune response.

Distribution of fim3 and flaA TTGE sequence types amongst isolates of Bordetella bronchiseptica from different host animals

“…and are also important immunologically [14,21]. Indeed, fimbrial components have been included in acellular vaccines against B. pertussis [22] and in a B. bronchiseptica vaccine for cats [9]. Variation between the Fim2 and Fim3 proteins of B. pertussis and B. bronchiseptica has been reported in previous studies [16].…”

“…Isolation rates in the cat population ranging from 3% to 11% and seroprevalence rates of between 24% and 79% have been reported, and in epidemiological studies a significant association with respiratory disease has been found in some cat populations [4][5][6][7]. Also, respiratory disease has been reproduced experimentally in specificpathogen-free cats, confirming that this organism can be a primary pathogen in this species [8,9].…”

Current aspects on vaccines and immunization in the dog and cat. Part II. Vaccines and vaccinations in the cat and postvaccinal complications

“…Αν και ορολογικές μελέτες έχουν δείξει πως μεγάλος αριθ μός γατών έχει εκτεθεί στη Β. bronchiseptica 3 , ο αιτιολο γικός της ρόλος έχει μελετηθεί περισσότερο κάτω από ερ γαστηριακές και λιγότερο κάτω από φυσικές συνθήκες. Για την πληρέστερη κάλυψη των ζώων και με βάση τα πο λύ καλά αποτελέσματα που είχε η χρήση ενός εμβολίου υ-πομονάδας κατά της Β. bronchiseptica 3 συνιστάται ο εμβο λιασμός παρά τις επιφυλάξεις ως προς την ασφάλεια, και την αποτελεσματικότητα του εμβολίου αυτοΰ 13 .…”

Investigation of immunogenicity and protective efficiency of Bordetella bronchiseptica fimbriae in mice

“…Fimbriae important in humoral immune response against B. bronchiseptica (4,18,19) was also included in a vaccine for cats (13). Fimbriae was initially demonstrated to be constituted of three antigenically related 21, 22 and 24 kDa fimbrial major subunit proteins by Lee et al (1986) and shown to be expressed in variant quantities effecting the host species specificity of B. bronchiseptica strains (4).…”

“…Fimbriae was initially demonstrated to be constituted of three antigenically related 21, 22 and 24 kDa fimbrial major subunit proteins by Lee et al (1986) and shown to be expressed in variant quantities effecting the host species specificity of B. bronchiseptica strains (4). By different studies, fimbrial subunits of B. bronchiseptica were determined as Fim2, Fim3, FimX (expressed only at very low levels), FimA, FimN and FimD (3,8,13,20,21,26,28). Although being the minor fimbrial subunit, 40 kDa FimD, have important role in adhesion by affecting the expression of the major fimbrial subunits and being necessary in formation of the fimbrial structure (8,31).…”