Mastitis vaccines

Talbot, B. G. and P. Lacasse. 2005. Progress in the development of mastitis vaccines. Livestock Production... 

In 1971, levamisole, an anthelmintic compound widely used in catde and swine, was shown to improve the effects of an experimental Brucella abortus vaccine in mice. Since that time, the veterinarians and physicians have explored the effects of levamisole in such diverse areas as arthritis, lupus erythematosis, cancer therapy, respiratory diseases, Newcastle disease, foot-and-mouth disease, mastitis, and vaccine potentiation. Although the exact mechanism of action has as yet not been deterrnined there is substantial evidence that, under defined circumstances, levamisole can augment the animal s natural immune response (9). New immunostimulants include Staph Ijysate acemannon, NLAB-31. 

Watson, D.L. (1992), Vaccination against experimental staphylococcal mastitis in dairy heifers . Res Vet Sci. London British Veterinary Association, Nov, 346-353. 

Filteau, S. (2003). The influence of mastitis on antibody transfer to infants through breast milk. Vaccine 21, 3377-3381. 

Genetic manipulation (GM) also offers the prospect of healthier animals with improved resistance to diseases such as mastitis or to the ticks that can infest cattle, thus reducing the need for antibiotics and pesticides. Medicines may be produced in the milk of cows. For example, GM cows could produce milk with a clotting factor for hemophiliacs, milk containing human serum albumin for blood transfusions, or milk with a hepatitis vaccine. Several of these medicines could be produced much more efficiently than with the technologies currently used. Some of the potential changes that can be brought about in milk are listed in Table 1. 

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