Investigation published in The Veterinary Record

June 21^st, 2014

RB51 vaccination can minimize the diagnostic problems associated with S19 vaccination of adult cattle, but its use for bovine brucellosis (BB) control remains controversial. Here, we describe the evolution of BB prevalence in five high- revalence areas in Spain subjected to different control measures: herd-depopulation of infected herds (I-III) or mass vaccination with RB51 and S19/RB51 vaccination of replacement heifers (IV-V). Annual data from the eradication campaigns was analyzed at a Special Incidence Area (SIA) level and the time to obtain herd-prevalence levels of<1% (“control status”) was obtained at the Local Veterinary Unit (LVU) level and compared using a Cox’s proportional-hazard models. A higher annual rate of decrease of the herd prevalence was observed in the SIAs subjected to vaccination (46.9%, 95% Confidence Interval 43.5-50.0) compared to those managed using stamping out (14.9%, 95% CI 9.6-19.9). No significant differences on the time to achieve a control status were observed depending on the stamping- ut/vaccination strategy used at the LVU level, with a median time of 60 (stamping-out LVUs) and 63 (vaccination LVUs) months. Our results suggest that RB51 mass vaccination, in combination with the S19/RB51 vaccination of replacement heifers and strict implementation of other eradication measures, may provide results at least comparable to those expected when a herd depopulation based strategy is implemented

Saez-Llorente JL., Sanz C., Duran M., Garcia P., Fernandez F., Minguez O., Carbajo L., Mardones FO., Perez AM., Gonzalez S., Dominguez L. and Alvarez J..

Comparison of depopulation and S19-RB51 vaccination strategies for control of bovine brucellosis in high prevalence areas

Comparison of depopulation and S19-RB51 vaccination strategies for control of bovine brucellosis in high prevalence areas

	Subdirección General de Sanidad e Higiene Animal y Trazabilidad. Dirección General de Sanidad de la Producción Agraria. Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente (MAGRAMA).
	Laboratorio Central de Sanidad Animal (LCSA). Área de Ganadería. Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente (MAGRAMA).
	Consejeria de Agricultura y Medio Ambiente. Gobierno de Castilla-La Mancha (JCCM).
	Consejería de Desarrollo Rural, Ganadería, Pesca y Biodiversidad. Gobierno de Cantabria.
	Servicio de Sanidad Animal. Junta de Castilla y León.
	University of California-Davis (UCDAVIS).
	College of Veterinary Medicine. University of Minnesota (UMM).
	Servicio de Zoonosis Emergentes, de Baja Prevalencia y Agresivos Biológicos (NED). Centro de Vigilancia Sanitaria Veterinaria (VISAVET). Universidad Complutense (UCM).
	Departamento de Sanidad Animal. Facultad de Veterinaria. Universidad Complutense (UCM).
	Instituto Ramón y Cajal de Investigación Sanitaria (IRYCIS). Universidad Complutense (UCM). Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM). Universidad de Alcalá (UAH). Salud Madrid. Comunidad de Madrid.