| abstract |
the present invention provides pharmaceutical compositions and vaccines that comprise treponema spp. supplemented with treponema spp. or other pathological agents that cause digital dermatitis such as, but not limited to, d. nodosus or f. necrophorum, to effectively immunize susceptible mammals, preferably ungulates, against dd, in particular against bovine digital dermatitis. the present invention also identifies treponema pedis and treponema phagedenis as two of the etiological agents of digital dermatitis (dd) in mammals, in particular digital dermatitis in ungulates. therefore, the invention also provides isolated cultures of treponema pedis and treponema phagedenis to effectively immunize susceptible mammals, preferably ungulates, against dd, in particular against bovine digital dermatitis. in addition, the present invention provides methods for diagnosing dd by detecting infection with a series of treponema-specific antigens. |