Rayhan Abid
Cattle mastitis disease is a serious problem in Bangladesh. It is usually caused by infection in the udder of cows or buffaloes, which reduces milk production and harms the health of cattle. Recently, a vaccine for bovine mastitis has been invented by Dr. Md. Bahanur Rahman, Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Professor of the Department of Microbiology and Hygiene of Bangladesh Agricultural University, and his research team. After four years of research, they have invented this vaccine for the first time in the country.
Professor Bahanur's research team included Dr. Mohammad Habibur Rahman and some postgraduate students at the university. It is known that bovine mastitis or udder inflammation is a bacterial infectious disease that occurs in the udder of cows. In this disease, the udder of the cow swells, there is pain and burning in the udder, and the cow's milk production decreases. In severe infections, the milk production of the cow stops completely. This causes huge losses to the farmers. Since the bacteria of this disease are resistant to conventional antibiotics, effective results are not obtained in preventive treatment.
Regarding the research, Dr. Bahanoor stated "We started the research in 2020. We surveyed 209 farms in 9 districts including Dhaka, Mymensingh, and Netrokona. In the survey, we found mastitis infection in 46% of the cows. We collected samples from the field and determined the infection and severity of mastitis through somatic cell count. Later, after long clinical tests and processing in the laboratory, we were able to develop this vaccine.
This research was conducted by collecting samples from 517 cows. We worked with 4 bacteria to prepare this vaccine. The bacteria are Streptococcus agalactiae, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus uberis. These bacteria have been collected from the samples used in the study. Since it works against four bacteria, it is called Polyvalent Mastitis Vaccine. These bacteria can spread from animals to humans due to their zoonotic nature."
This study was funded by the Bangladesh Academy of Sciences-United States Department of Agriculture (BAS-USDA) program, which began on October 1, 2020, and ended on December 31, 2023. The study was for three years and was presented to the Department of Livestock on June 11, 2024.
Additionally, Dr. Bahanur stated that it is necessary to ensure the health of the udder of the cow for good milk production. This disease of cows is mainly caused by bacteria and, in particular, some fungi. Although the vaccine for this disease was imported from abroad in the country earlier, this vaccine is no longer available in the country. To ensure the health of cows and prevent disruption of milk production, we were able to invent the first mastitis vaccine using completely indigenous technology.
"According to international standards, a vaccine is considered successful only if it is 70 percent effective. But our invented vaccine is almost 100 percent effective", said Dr. Bahanur.
Regarding the use of the vaccine, Professor Bahanur Rahman stated that the invented vaccine has been tested on mice and guinea pigs and its safety has been verified, and the fifth-generation adjuvant has been used in this vaccine. The vaccine has to be administered during the pregnancy of cows. Two doses of the vaccine should be given to cows. The first dose should be given between 7 and 8 months of pregnancy and the second dose should be given before calving, i.e. between 9 and 9.5 months. Each animal should be given 5 ml of vaccine per dose. This vaccine has no side effects. If two doses of the vaccine are given to cows, the chances of getting mastitis will be reduced by about 90 percent. If it can be marketed, the price of this vaccine will be within the reach of farmers.
Rayhan Abid is a student
of Bangladesh Agriculture
University, Mymensingh.
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