Title: Evaluation of a new vaccine for canine brucellosis
Funding Institution: Canine Health Foundation
Description: The goal of this project is to develop a brucellosis vaccine that is safe, stable, free of side effects and efficacious for dogs. Canine infection by Brucella spp. constitutes a serious problem for dog breeders and pet owners, leading to the economic burden associated with reproductive loss and veterinary care. Canine brucellosis is also considered a public health concern because of its potential to be transmitted to humans. Within the US, the disease has reemerged due to the chronic persistence of the organism, low dose for infection, low sensitivity and specificity of the current diagnostic tests, and most importantly the lack of a protective vaccine for canine use. Historically in the US, brucellosis control efforts for cattle, sheep, goats and domestic pigs have been successful mainly due to the availability of protective and efficacious vaccines. Previous funding (CHF Grant- 2275-A) has permitted us to successfully engineer a promising live attenuated vaccine candidate (initial in vitro studies have demonstrated that this candidate is highly attenuated in canine macrophages as well as laboratory animals). We will further investigate the ability of the vaccine candidate to induce appropriate immunity prior to testing in dogs and also develop a diagnostic assay capable of differentiating naturally infected vs vaccinated animals, necessary for mass vaccination. It is our expectation, that the development of a safe and highly protective brucellosis vaccine for dogs, will significantly impact owners, breeders and human health by limiting the spread of the disease.