Introduction
Commercial J5 bacterins are formulated with a mutant strain of Escherichia coli (E. coli) O111:B4 (Rc mutant) lacking the “O” antigen capsule of the cell wall but with the core lipopolysaccharide (endotoxin) intact. These core antigens are highly conserved among Gram-negative bacteria (Cullor, 1991) and elicit cross-reactive antibodies against a wide variety of Gram-negative bacteria in J5 vaccinated cows (Chaiyotwittayakun et al., 2004). Vaccination with J5 bacterin increases anti-J5 E. coli antibodies in serum and milk as …