Claw horn disruption lesion (CHDL) incidence in the subsequent lactation by CHDL prediction quartile.

<p>The bars represent the mean CHDL incidence in the subsequent lactation (light gray) and mean CHDL incidence restricted to the first 100 days of the subsequent lactation (dark gray). Error bars indicate the 95% confidence interval.</p

Subcutaneous immunization with inactivated bacterial components and purified protein of Escherichia coli, Fusobacterium necrophorum and Trueperella pyogenes prevents puerperal metritis in Holstein dairy cows.

In this study we evaluate the efficacy of five vaccine formulations containing different combinations of proteins (FimH; leukotoxin, LKT; and pyolysin, PLO) and/or inactivated whole cells (Escherichia coli, Fusobacterium necrophorum, and Trueperella pyogenes) in preventing postpartum uterine diseases. Inactivated whole cells were produced using two genetically distinct strains of each bacterial species (E. coli, F. necrophorum, and T. pyogenes). FimH and PLO subunits were produced using recombinant protein expression, and LKT was recovered from culturing a wild F. necrophorum strain. Three subcutaneous vaccines were formulated: Vaccine 1 was composed of inactivated bacterial whole cells and proteins; Vaccine 2 was composed of proteins only; and Vaccine 3 was composed of inactivated bacterial whole cells only. Two intravaginal vaccines were formulated: Vaccine 4 was composed of inactivated bacterial whole cells and proteins; and Vaccine 5 was composed of PLO and LKT. To evaluate vaccine efficacy, a randomized clinical trial was conducted at a commercial dairy farm; 371 spring heifers were allocated randomly into one of six different treatments groups: control, Vaccine 1, Vaccine 2, Vaccine 3, Vaccine 4 and Vaccine 5. Late pregnant heifers assigned to one of the vaccine groups were each vaccinated twice: at 230 and 260 days of pregnancy. When vaccines were evaluated grouped as subcutaneous and intravaginal, the subcutaneous ones were found to significantly reduce the incidence of puerperal metritis. Additionally, subcutaneous vaccination significantly reduced rectal temperature at 6±1 days in milk. Reproduction was improved for cows that received subcutaneous vaccines. In general, vaccination induced a significant increase in serum IgG titers against all antigens, with subcutaneous vaccination again being more effective. In conclusion, subcutaneous vaccination with inactivated bacterial components and/or protein subunits of E. coli, F. necrophorum and T. pyogenes can prevent puerperal metritis during the first lactation of dairy cows, leading to improved reproduction

Receiver operating characteristic curve.

<p>ROC curve that identified the optimal cut off point for the predicted probability values obtained by the logistic regression model that had subsequent lactation claw horn disruption lesion (CHDL) as an outcome. The gold standard in this analysis was CHDL incidence.</p

Percentage of cows identified as being at risk and percentage of cows that developed CHDL in the subsequent lactation.

<p>Percentage of cows identified as being at risk to develop claw horn disruption lesions (CHDL) in the subsequent lactation by the logistic regression model (using the cut off value derived by ROC analysis) and percentage of cows that developed CHDL in the subsequent lactation that were characterized as being at risk by the logistic regression model (using the cut off value derived by ROC analysis).</p

Descriptive statistics for enrolled farms.

<p>(A) Dry cows’ severe lameness prevalence (visual locomotion score > 3; SEVLAME); dry cows’ lameness prevalence (visual locomotion score > 2; LAMEDRY); claw horn disruption lesion incidence in the subsequent lactation to our visit (CHDL). (B) Mean (with standard error) mature equivalent 305-d milk yield in kg (ME305MILK); dry cows’ mean (with standard error) body condition score (BCS).</p

Specificity, Sensitivity, Positive Predictive Value and Negative Predictive Value.

<p>Bars for each farm, using the predicted probability threshold suggested by ROC analysis and claw horn disruption lesion incidence in the subsequent lactation as the gold standard.</p

Lameness, severe lameness at dry-off and claw horn disruption lesion (CHDL) by rubber floor use.

<p>Average farm lameness (visual locomotion score (VLS) > 2) and severe lameness (VLS > 3) prevalence at drying off and average farm previous and subsequent lactation claw horn disruption lesion (CHDL) incidence for farms that were or were not using rubber flooring in the dry cows pens and for farms that were or were not using rubber flooring in the lactating cows pens. Error bars represent standard error of the mean.</p

Lameness, severe lameness at dry-off and claw horn disruption lesion (CHDL) by different stall bedding type.

<p>Mean farm lameness (visual locomotion score (VLS) > 2) and severe lameness (VLS > 3) prevalence at drying off and mean farm previous and subsequent lactation claw horn disruption lesion (CHDL) incidence by different stall bedding type for dry (A) and lactating cows (B). Error bars represent standard error of the mean.</p

Effect of subcutaneous and intravaginal vaccines on reproduction.

<p>The median calving-to-conception interval for subcutaneously vaccinated cows (inner interrupted line), intravaginally vaccinated cows (middle interrupted line), and control cows (solid line) was 94, 114, and 120 respectively. (<i>P-</i>value = 0.04).</p

Descriptive statistics of treatment groups.

<p>Descriptive statistics of treatment groups.</p