Rinderpest Immunity in Calves: II. Active Immunization

Abstract

Calves which were the progeny of rinderpest-susceptible dams were inoculated with lapinized rinderpest virus when 1 day to 2 months old. Their serological response, as measured by neutralizing antibody titre 21 days later, did not differ from that of adult susceptible cattle.In calves born of rinderpest-immune cows, the serological response to caprinized rinderpest virus depended upon the level of maternally derived antibody. There were two critical levels, one below which all calves produced antibodies (serum titre of 0.7 or less) and another above which no antibody was formed (serum titre of 2.2 or more). Thus all animals aged 8 months or more at the time of inoculation were actively immunized but no calf aged 3 months or less reacted in this manner.The response of calves with maternally derived antibody titres between 0.9 and 2.0 varied. There was a significant inverse relationship between the preinoculation titre and the amount of antibody formed during the following 3 weeks. A similar inverse relationship was shown between the pre-inoculation titre and the rate of production of antibody and its titre 1 year following inoculation.Calves which possessed colostral antibody, and which were actively immunized by caprinized virus inoculation, did not necessarily show the usual clinical reaction. When such animals failed to become actively immunized there was no sensitization of the antibody-forming mechanism, a fact demonstrated by the lack of an anamnestic response to subsequent exposure to rinderpest virus antigen.I owe thanks to many people: to Dr S. E. Piercy, Deputy Director, E.A.V.R.O., for advice and encouragement; to Mr G. R. Scott, Senior Virologist, E.A.V.R.O., for advice and encouragement and, with Mr G. J. Knight, for help in the statistical analysis of the data; to Dr M. H. French lately head of Division and Mr G. Lampkin, Joint Animal Industry Division of E.A.A.F.R.O. and E.A.V.R.O. for facilities for the inoculation of calves from rinderpest-immune dams with rinderpest vaccine; Mr J. M. Nightingale, Sasamua Estate, South Kinangop, and Mr J. Armstrong, Naivasha, for facilities for immunizing calves from rinderpest-susceptible dams; Mr C. S. Rampton, Mr N. Kerani and Mr F. Mwithiga for technical assistance.This and the previous paper (see p. 427) are published by permission of the Director, East African Veterinary Research Organization.