Abstract :
An effective vaccine that improves the control of contagious agalactia in Mediterranean
regions would be beneficial for poorer farmers who use traditional husbandry methods
for sheep and goat production. However while there is little published data on the efficacy
of commercially available vaccines for contagious agalactia, evidence from the field
suggests that some provide inadequate protection. This paper compares four different vaccine
formulations, including a widely used commercial vaccine, using clinical signs and
mycoplasma excretion as measures of protection in sheep. Results showed that protection
afforded by the vaccines, following contact challenge with experimentally infected ewes,
varied considerably. A live attenuated vaccine, presently forbidden in the European Union,
conferred the best clinical protection, despite a lack of serological response, followed by
a vaccine prepared by inactivating the mycoplasmas with saponin. A commercial vaccine
inactivated with formalin provided no protection against this disease
