In search for a vaccine for infectious bovine rhinotracheitis

UN/DICYT UNal experts presented a model to produce a biologic compound to battle against Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR), a very frequently diagnosed disease in Colombian cattle.

IBR is a disease caused by the Bovine herpesvirus 1, which has world-wide distribution and is responsible for respiratory and genital diseases.

This infection impacts cattle and occasionally goats. Although it causes great impact in cattle because besides the respiratory and genital issues (in both males and female), it produces a direct impact on health indicators (birthrate, milk production, weight gain, and period between births) of livestock farming.

The disease produces infectious pustular vulvovaginitis in cows and infectious pustular balanoposthitis in bulls, with several clinical manifestations such as conjunctivitis, abortions, meningoencephalitis and systemic infections in young animals.

There are commercial vaccines in the market but the effect on infection, latency establishment and reactivation are disputable. Something even more worrisome is the difficulty of distinguishing vaccinated animals from those naturally infected, complicating diagnosis and disease control.

“In Colombia, despite the disease being detected in 1974, only until the beginning of the 90s research was initiated to become cognizant of its field behavior, by means of prospective type studies”, said Professor Víctor Vera of the UNal Veterinary and Zootechnics Faculty’ Microbiology and Epidemiology Group.

He says that according to preliminary information on the IBR virus they have developed research projects in hopes of discovering a vaccine against the virus. Their approach was with an inactive high virulent biologic model which was tested in rabbits and a recombinant vaccine model.

According to the National Agricultural Survey published by the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE, for its Spanish acronym) there are 22 million cattle head in Colombia, of which 16% are destined for dairy production, 36% have double purpose and the remaining 48% are devoted to meat production.

Per capita consumption measured as kilos per inhabitant consumed per year was 15.2 in October of 2012.

The Microbiology and Epidemiology Group has been isolating viral field strains which have economic importance, since its inception. Therefore currently it has isolated viral agents who infect cattle, swine and fowl.