CATTLE RESPONSE TO FOOT-AND-MOUTH-DISEASE VIRUS NONSTRUCTURAL PROTEINS AS ANTIGENS WITHIN VACCINES PRODUCED USING DIFFERENT CONCENTRATIONS

Four groups of ten nine-month-old Nelore heifers were used for this st udy. Each group received one of four foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) triv alent vaccines for the duration of the experiment. The four vaccine fo rmulations (Normal, 2X, 4X and 8X) differed in 140S content to determi ne the serological reactivities to FMD virus (FMDV) nonstructural prot eins 2C, 3ABC and 3D. Vaccination was by the intramuscular administrat ion of vaccine on day 0, 180 and 360, Bleedings were done at 30 days p ost vaccination (dpv), 90 dpv, 30 days post revaccination (dpr), 90 dp r, and 30 days post third administration (dprr). There was a general t endency to have higher mean 3D responses with increased vaccine applic ation but not with increased concentration of antigen. With 2C and 3AB C this tendency was not seen, neither with repeated application of vac cine nor with increased antigen concentration, All individual animal o bservations to 2C and 3ABC remained within three standard deviations o f the average observed for naive bovids. Percent of positive (PP) reac tions was determined using an ELISA for nonstructural proteins 2C, 3AB C and 3D expressed in baculovirus as previously described. A value of >25 PP to 2C or 3ABC could be considered as an indication of previous infection or of the presence of viral activity. PP results between 18 and 25 PP suggest viral activity and animals should be retested. Those responses below 15 PP are suggestive of vaccination or naive status. As diagnosis in the laboratory is not divorced from the field epidemio logical scene, the intermediate zone between 10 and 20 PP should be co nsidered and acted upon according to the overall zoosanitary situation of that country or region and the purposes of the ongoing FMD control efforts.