BCG vaccination failed to protect yearling African buffaloes (Syncerus caffer) against experimental intratonsilar challenge with Mycobacterium bovis

Vaccination has been discussed as a practical option to control bovine tuberculosis in countries where a wildlife reservoir of the disease is present. African buffaloes (Syncerus caffer) are the main wildlife reservoir of Mycobacterium bovis in certain South African game parks and vaccination is not only the most promising but the only ethically acceptable control measure currently available. The use of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccine (Pasteur strain) to vaccinate fourteen African buffalo yearlings and their reactions to subsequent intratonsilar challenge with a field strain of M. bovis are described. The BCG vaccine was administered twice intramuscularly, six weeks apart. All vaccinates and thirteen control buffaloes were euthanized and necropsies performed 9 months after the challenge. Standard sets of lymph nodes from the head, the thoracic cavity and abdomen were cultured and examined histopathologically. No significant reduction in number of lesions or severity of disease was noted, concluding that the BCG vaccine did not induce sufficient protection able to limit the shedding of organisms. The age of the buffaloes, route of vaccination and prior exposure to environmental mycobacteria are among the possible reasons for vaccination failure.