New mastitis vaccine tackles dairy industry’s number one disease threat

Saskatoon, Sask., March 13, 2001

A new vaccine to combat the streptococcal form of bovine mastitis has passed the proof-of-concept phase, taking it one step closer to producers, says its developer, Dr. Andy Potter, of the Veterinary Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) at the University of Saskatchewan.

Mastitis is the most costly disease affecting North American dairy cattle, with annual industry losses estimated at up to $7 billion due to reduced productivity and the discarding of contaminated milk. In Canada, the cost to producers is estimated at around $500 million. The streptococcal form of the disease accounts for a large number of the clinical cases in the field, says Potter, VIDO Associate Director (Research).

In four separate vaccine trials, two at the University of British Columbia dairy research facility in Abbottsford, B.C. and two at VIDO, vaccinated dairy cattle demonstrated significant resistance to streptococcal infection, says Potter. “From the producer perspective, this is an important development as no vaccines for controlling streptococcal mastitis are currently available.” The Dairy Farmers of Canada and numerous provincial dairy organizations funded the project, along with federal and provincial governments.

“Mastitis is caused by a number of micro-organisms, but the environmental streptococcal pathogens, S. uberis and S. dysgalactiae, are especially challenging because they are resistant to conventional control methods such as teat dipping and antibiotic therapy,” explains Potter. A third streptococcal pathogen, S. agalactiae, is also a target of the research.

Both S. uberis and S. dysgalactiae are particularly important, as they are environmental organisms found in most dairy facilities, leaving animals almost constantly exposed to these pathogens, says Potter.

“Since we began working on the project in the early 1990s, our research has focused on identifying potential vaccine components from each of those three streptococcal species,” says Potter. “We have found three particular proteins involved in the production of an inflammatory response in the mammary gland during infection and vaccines containing these antigens are responsible for blocking clinical mastitis.”

With the basic research component of the project now complete, VIDO has begun transferring vaccine material and data to its commercial partner on the project, a multinational animal health company. The company will begin its product development work and will ultimately produce enough of the vaccine for registration trials.

Despite the effectiveness of the vaccine so far, in controlling the streptococcal form of the disease, business considerations must still be factored into its commercial applicability, cautions Potter.

If proven as effective as demonstrated in the vaccine trials, the vaccine could make a significant impact on the dairy industry in terms of increased production and reduced waste, says Potter.

“During the next year, we will assist our commercial partner in this project to ensure it’s an economically viable product that can be delivered in the field efficiently and effectively,” he adds.

VIDO, located in Saskatoon, is a not-for-profit institute wholly owned by the University of Saskatchewan and is a global leader in food animal and poultry vaccine research for the control of infectious diseases.

For more information, contact:

Dr. Andrew Potter
Associate Director (Research)
Veterinary Infectious Disease Organization
Phone: (306) 966-7484
Fax: (306) 966-7478
E-mail: potter@sask.usask.ca

Stuart Bond
Associate Director, Producer Relations
Veterinary Infectious Disease Organization
Phone: (306) 966-7474
Fax: (306) 966-7478