ANTIBODIES IN THE VAGINAL MUCUS OF HEIFERS EXPERIMENTALLY-INFECTED WITH LEPTOSPIRA-INTERROGANS SEROVAR HARDJO

The local and systemic immune response to leptospira interrogans servo ar hardjo was studied in experimentally infected cattle. Local anti-le ptospiral antibody levels in vaginal mucus were monitored for one year after infection. Anti-leptospiral antibody was detected in vaginal mu cus of all heifers and high levels of anti-hardjo IgG and IgA were det ected from the eighth week after infection. Although the levels of ant i-leptospiral IgG and IgA in vaginal mucus tended to parallel each oth er, there was not a consistent relationship between serum and vaginal mucus antibody levels.