Oral vaccination against bovine tuberculosis with Mycobacterium bovis BCG

Abstract

The use of a bacillus Calmette–Guerin (BCG)-based vaccine could represent a viable strategy for controlling bovine tuberculosis (TB), principally in those cases where a wildlife disease vector exists. This article focuses on recent progress in animal TB vaccinology, outlining that oral-route vaccination represents the most feasible means of distributing a vaccine to control disease in wildlife. Drawing on historical successes of previous wildlife vaccination programs, the article suggests how, and in what form, an oral-delivery BCG-based vaccine might become operational, considering the wide diversity of TB reservoir species and the inherent problems associated with field delivery of a live-attenuated microbial vaccine.

Keywords::

• BCG vaccine
• bovine tuberculosis
• livestock
• oral vaccination
• wildlife