Development And Evaluation of an Experimental Inactivated Vaccine Against Lumpy Skin Disease

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) of cattle, caused by the lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV), results in significant economic losses and restricted cross-border livestock trade. Although live attenuated vaccines are commercially available, the inactivated vaccines would be an appropriate substitute because they are devoid of any adverse reaction and cannot mutate to produce new viral strains. The objectives of this study were to develop an inactivated oil-adjuvanted vaccine using a local isolate of LSDV and to evaluate the immune response of this vaccine in rabbits. The LSDV was isolated from scab samples of suspected cows by inoculating embryonated chicken eggs via the chorioallantoic membrane route. One of the isolates was adapted to grow in Madin-Darby bovine kidney cells, followed by its inactivation with binary ethyleneimine. Montanide ISA50 V2 was added as an adjuvant. A total of 24 rabbits were divided into three groups of eight each; Group A received our inactivated vaccine while Group B was given a commercial live vaccine. Group C served as a non-vaccinated control. The mean antibody titers were statistically analyzed by Dunnett’s test. The D-value of 77.78 indicated that the vaccine produced protective antibodies.