Potency of leptospiral vaccines and protection against chronic infection in golden hamsters

Seven vaccines prepared from pathogenic strains of different origin of Leptospira interrogans [serovars icterohaemorrhagiae (one strain) and copenhageni (6 strains)] were examined in protection tests on golden hamsters. Two of the copenhageni strains were used for challenge. The organs (kidneys, spleen, liver) in the vaccinated animals surviving challenge were protected to a varying degree. Low rates of survival were associated with a high incidence of Leptospira-positive findings, partly connected with focal lesions of the kidneys. On the other hand, in the groups in which all the animals survived, it was not possible to culture leptospires from their organs or to detect leptospiral antigen in these organs by immunohistochemical investigation. A protection of the organs that prevents vaccinated animals from shedding leptospires after infection clearly depends on the vaccine dose administered and the efficacy of the vaccine which can be measured in potency tests based on the survival rate as the relevant parameter.