PRIZE animals could be protected from foot and mouth disease by an injection
of antibodies, says a British researcher.
When animals are vaccinated or infected, they make antibodies that bind to
the virus and help the immune system mop it up. But Peter Lachmann, an
immunologist at Cambridge University, says that rare or valuable animals such as
Berkshire pigs could be given 鈥渙ff-the-shelf鈥� antibodies so they don鈥檛
get infected in the first place.
It鈥檚 not practical for every animal. 鈥淏ut for high-value animals, it鈥檚
something people should think about,鈥� Lachmann says.
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The big advantage is that the antibodies would protect animals against the
virus for a month or more, and then gradually decay. This means there鈥檇 be no
problem exporting the animals or their products.
In contrast, vaccinated animals can be infected by the virus without
displaying any symptoms. Disease-free countries won鈥檛 import animals that
produce antibodies even though tests can distinguish between vaccinated and
infected animals. This means emergency vaccination is normally used only to
delay slaughter, rather than avoid it.
Another advantage of injecting antibodies is that it gives instant
protection, whereas vaccinated animals take up to 10 days to produce enough
antibodies. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a great idea. There鈥檚 no chance of infection
whatsoever,鈥� says Fred Brown, a veteran foot and mouth researcher at the Plum
Island Animal Disease Center, New York. 鈥淭here are plenty of vaccinated animals
around the world you could get them from.鈥�
But Chris Bostock of the Institute of Animal Health in Pirbright, Surrey, is
sceptical. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 see how it鈥檚 something that could be applied practically in
the current situation.鈥� He describes the idea of using antibodies from
vaccinated animals that might still harbour the virus as 鈥渉orrific鈥�. 鈥淭here鈥檇 be
a high risk of importing virus.鈥�
But you could avoid this risk by using antibodies that are
manufactured rather than extracted from animals, he says. 鈥淭he only realistic
and acceptable way would be to use defined monoclonal antibodies made in a
production plant.鈥�