Oral anthrax vaccine could help livestock, wildlife

Researchers at Texas A&M University are working to perfect an anthrax vaccine that can be delivered to livestock orally, rather than through a traditional injection.

Injection is time-consuming for livestock and not feasible for wildlife, researchers say, and oral administration could make wildlife distribution possible. The findings from a pilot study of the oral vaccine were recently published in Nature. The team is now moving on to the next round of tests.

If they’re successful, they’ll have developed the first effective oral vaccine against anthrax for wildlife, according to the university.

Anthrax is caused by a bacterium called Bacillus anthracis. It contaminates surface soil and grasses, where it can be ingested or inhaled by livestock or grazing wildlife. This is especially common in the western Texas Hill Country.

A spike in cases last year brought increased attention to the disease. It may have been responsible for more than 10,000 animal deaths, said Jamie Benn Felix, a postdoctoral research associate at the university.

“If you assume the economic value for each animal was $1,000, which is probably extremely low given the number of exotic species on some of the ranches, you’re looking at an economic loss of $10 million in just a few months,” she said. “And given the problems with reporting cases, it could be significantly higher than that.”

More information on the new vaccine is available from Texas A&M.