Study on the effectiveness of bluetongue vaccines in cattle under Dutch field conditions
To assess the effectiveness of the available bluetongue vaccines against bluetongue serotype 3 (BTV3) in cattle under field conditions, researchers collected data on the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) at veterinary practices of the Vereniging Kernpraktijken Rundvee. Additionally, the results of PCR tests from the Bluetongue Early Warning system were included when available. Data was collected from a total of 1,114 dairy farms.
The study concludes that vaccination with Bultavo in this dataset is associated with the lowest likelihood of conducting a BTV3 test, the lowest likelihood of testing positive, and the lowest NSAID use. NSAID use can be seen as a proxy for the number of clinically diseased animals on a farm. Other vaccines appeared to offer less protection, but it is possible that farms using these vaccines were more exposed to BTV3 than other farms as this is an observational study and not a randomized trial. Therefore, we cannot conclude that other vaccines are ineffective, but in our data Bultavo was associated with the most favorable effects on preventing infection and disease caused by BTV3.