BEF: Development of a single dose Bovine Ephemeral Fever Vaccine
| Project start date: | 01 November 2010 |
| Project end date: | 26 October 2015 |
| Publication date: | 26 October 2015 |
| Project status: | Completed |
| Livestock species: | Grassfed cattle, Grainfed cattle |
Summary
Bovine Ephemeral Fever (BEF; Three Day Sickness) is endemic in Australia and estimated to cost the beef industry $60 million per year. There is an effective vaccine on the market, but the initial vaccination needs to be given as two injections 2 – 4 weeks apart. This presents practical difficulties in much of the northern beef industry and has resulted in relatively disappointing uptake of the vaccine. This project set out to develop a slow-release single dose BEF vaccine, utilising licensed VacciMax® technology. Zoetis, the co-funding partner, gave notice of their decision to terminate the project in October 2015 and not to proceed with the remaining milestones 6, 8 and 9. The reason cited was that results to date did not satisfy the criteria for a vaccine to elicit a strong and consistent reaction after a single dose and to provide protection for at least 6 months following vaccination.
