Immunisation of Pregnant Cows Against Ringworm and its Effect on the Progeny

The topic of the study was the development of immunity and its possible transmission to progeny in pregnant cows vaccinated against ringworm. Twelve experimental pregnant cows were vaccinated twice against ringworm and another twelve cows served as non-vaccinated controls. Calves born by the experimental and the control cows were challenged epicutaneously with a virulent strain of Trichophyton verrucosum. The experimental cows were challenged with the same agent ten months after the second vaccination. The challenge resulted in mycotic lesions that were less severe and healed sooner in the vaccinated than in the control cows. No difference in the clinical course of ringworm induced by challenge were observed between the calves born by the experimental and the control cows. It is concluded that pregnant cows vaccinated against ringworm developed immunity which was not transmitted to their progeny. The vaccination had no effect on pregnancy, parturition and the state of health of newborn calves. The results were not processed by statistical methods. Immunisation, Trichophyton verrucosum, pregnant cows The effects of vaccination of late pregnant cows against ringworm using the Russian vaccines TF-130 and LTF-130 on the state of health of the vaccinates and newborn calves and on the course of pregnancy were studied by Ji lavjan et al. (1976). However, the authors did not investigate the development of immunity and its possible transfer to the progeny. Materials and Methods Our experiment was conducted in Holstein cows in a herd that had been free of ringworm for the last ten years. The cows had never been vaccinated against ringworm. Twelve cows aged two to eight years were vaccinated intramuscularly in the gluteal region with 5 ml of a live commercial vaccine against ringworm (Trichoben, Bioveta, Ivanovice na Hané, Czech Republic); six of them wer