Myositis, lameness, and recumbency after use of water-in-oil adjuvanted vaccines in near-term beef cattle

Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory, Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82070, USA. DOT@uwyo.edu

A producer administered 2 US Department of Agriculture-licensed adjuvanted veterinary vaccines (inactivated bovine rotavirus-coronavirus vaccine; Clostridium perfringens type C-Escherichia coli bacterin-toxoid) into muscles of the left and right hips of 469 pregnant beef cows. Within 24 hours, 5 cattle were recumbent, and another 2 had non-weight bearing pelvic limb lameness (1.5% affected; 7/469). During the next 10 days, 50% of the herd developed firm swellings up to 24 cm in vaccination sites in muscles of the hip. Histological samples revealed granulomatous myositis with intralesional oil. Lesions resolved slowly during the next 6 months. Six cattle were injected experimentally with the vaccines. None became lame, but all developed foreign body granulomatous myositis similar to those in the affected herd. The maximum diameter of experimentally induced lesions in muscle at necropsy 60 days after injection with the recommended dose of the bacterin-toxoid vaccines was 12 cm. Histological examination revealed pyogranulomatous myositis, fibrosis, and myonecrosis. The inactivated viral vaccine induced milder granulomatous myositis with intralesional lipid and scant fibrosis. Acute transient lameness on the ranch was attributed to use of 2 irritating biological vaccines in the hip muscles of cows that were close to parturition.