This from Ulla Balletta. Options Ulla BallettaEquine Grass Sickness Month MAY 2013 17 September at 17:27 · .. The following is the response from Jo ireland who is involved in the vaccine trial, she did this for me to post on here to help with quesions regarding the vaccine a massive step in the right direction (“Clostridium botulinum type C is found commonly within soil, however it can be difficult to culture from soil samples, which is why we do not generally advise soil testing for this bacterium, as a negative result does not necessarily mean that Clostridium botulinum is not present. Several research studies of EGS have demonstrated a protective effect of natural immunity to Clostridium botulinum type C. In a study conducted by Liverpool University they clearly demonstrated that despite the presumed widespread nature ofClostridium botulinum in soil, horses affected by EGS had lower levels of circulating antibodies against the toxin of this organism than horses grazing on the same pastures at the same time, that did not succumb to the disease. Furthermore this research showed that as the level of immunity against Clostridium botulinum type C toxin increased, the risk of EGS decreased. This ‘dose-response effect’ for protection against EGS has been interpreted as strong evidence to support the suggestion that inducing antibodies againstClostridium botulinum type C toxin by vaccination will help reduce the frequency of EGS. In addition, other clostridial diseases, such as tetanus and botulism, are successfully prevented by vaccination, suggesting that it should theoretically be possible to prevent EGS by vaccination. It is not possible to assess the efficacy of a candidate vaccine for the prevention of EGS experimentally, as it is not possible to artificially reproduce the disease. Therefore, a field vaccine trial represents the only available method of evaluating the preventive effect of vaccination and testing the theory that Clostridium botulinum type C plays a role in causing EGS. In the proposed vaccine trial, enrolled horses and ponies would be randomly selected to join one of two equally sized groups: either the vaccine group (vaccinated with theClostridium botulinum type C toxoid vaccine) or the placebo-treated group (receiving a harmless, inactive placebo injection which will not provide any immunity or protection against Clostridium botulinum type C). This process is referred to as “randomisation” and it ensures that the only difference between the two groups is whether they receive the vaccine or the placebo. Several risk factors for EGS have been identified in previous research studies and without proper randomisation it could be possible that existing risk factors for EGS might affect our ability to determine how effective the vaccine is. Having a group of placebo-treated horses and ponies is vital in a trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a vaccination against EGS. The results obtained in the two groups are compared at the end of the study to see if the vaccine treatment is more effective in preventing EGS than the placebo injection. In addition, blood tests will be used to measure the horse or pony’s immune response to the Clostridium botulinum type C vaccination.”)
Posted on: Wed, 16 Oct 2013 23:18:35 +0000
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