Development and testing of a bovine trichomoniasis vaccine

Eighteen culled dairy cows were randomly allocated into 1 of 5 treatment groups. Six cows were vaccinated twice (2V), 21 days apart, 3 with whole cell (2WC) and 3 with fragmented cell membrane (2FC) containing 1 × 10 9 Trichomonas fetus organisms or protein equivalent in a commercial mineral oil adjuvant vaccine. Six more cows were vaccinated once (1V), 3 with whole cell (1WC) and 3 with fragmented cell vaccine (1FC), using the same vaccine, while 6 cows were used as the unvaccinated controls. All cows were challenged with 1 × 10 5 organisms 4 weeks after the second or the only vaccination. After challenge, cervico-vaginal mucus (CVM) samples were cultured for T . fetus weekly for 9 weeks. Whole cell vaccines were superior to fragmented cell vaccines, and both performed better than no vaccination for apparent elimination of trichomonad infections in dairy cows. In addition, 2V was superior to 1V, which, in turn, was superior to no vaccination. Furthermore, clearance time was reduced most by 2V and whole cell vaccination compared with 1V and fragmented cell vaccination. Clearance time was decreased significantly in all vaccinated cows compared with that in unvaccinated cows.