Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-g7gxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-16T07:27:36.716Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Field trials of a recombinant rabies vaccine

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

P.-P. Pastoret
Affiliation:
Department of Immunology-Vaccinology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, B43 bis University of Liège, Boulevard de Colonster, SART TILMAN, B-4000 Liège, Belgium
D. Boulanger
Affiliation:
Department of Immunology-Vaccinology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, B43 bis University of Liège, Boulevard de Colonster, SART TILMAN, B-4000 Liège, Belgium
B. Brochier
Affiliation:
Department of Immunology-Vaccinology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, B43 bis University of Liège, Boulevard de Colonster, SART TILMAN, B-4000 Liège, Belgium

Summary

To improve both safety and stability of the vaccines used in the field to vaccinate foxes against rabies by the oral route, a recombinant vaccinia virus, expressing the glycoprotein of rabies virus (VVTGgRAB) has been developed. VVTGgRAB innocuity was verified in target species and in domestic animals as well as in numerous wild animal species that could compete with the red fox in consuming vaccine baits in Europe. Oral immunization of foxes, by distributing VVTGgRAB vaccine-baits, was undertaken for the whole infected area in Belgium (10000 km2). Five campaigns of fox vaccination, were carried out from autumn 1989 until 1991. Each time, 150000 vaccine-baits were dropped by air at a mean density of 15 per km2. These campaigns induced a drastic decrease in the incidence of rabies and the elimination of the disease from 80% of the initially infected area. Regarding the geographical evolution of rabies in Belgium and in adjacent regions in neighbouring countries, new spatial strategies for bait dispersal were planned for 1992, 1993 and 1994: successive confined campaigns were carried out along political borders only. These campaigns induced a new decrease of incidence; no rabid fox could be detected in 1993 in spite of an improved epidemiological surveillance. In 1994, rabies was again confirmed in 13 foxes collected in an area close to the French border. These cases demonstrate the persistence of a border rabies focus and justify further restricted vaccination campaigns.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Artois, M., Guittre, C., Thomas, I., Leblois, H., Brochier, B. & Barrat, J. (1992). Potential pathogenicity for rodents of vaccines intended for oral vaccination against rabies. A comparison. Vaccine 10, 524–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Aubert, M. (1994). Control of rabies in foxes: what are the appropriate measures? Veterinary Record 134, 55–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bingham, J., Foggin, C. H., Gerber, H., Hill, F. W. G., Kappeler, A., King, A. A., Perry, B. D. & Wandeler, A. I. (1992). The pathogenicity of SAD rabies vaccine in Chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) given by the oral route. Veterinary Record 131, 55–8.Google Scholar
Blancou, J., Kieny, M. P., Lathe, R., Lecocq, J. P., Pastoret, P. P., Soulebot, J. P. & Desmettre, P. (1986). Oral vaccination of the fox against rabies using live recombinant vaccinia virus. Nature 52, 373–5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boulanger, D., Brochier, B., Crouch, A., Bennett, M., Gaskell, R., Baxby, D. & Pastoret, P. P. (1995) Comparison of the susceptibility of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) to a vaccinia-rabies recombinant virus and to cowpox virus. Vaccine (in press.)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brochier, B., Blancou, J., Aubert, M., Kieny, M., Desmettre, P. & Pastoret, P. P. (1989 a). Interaction between rabies infection and oral administration of vaccinia-rabies recombinant virus to foxes (Vulpes vulpes). Journal of General Virology 70, 1601–4.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brochier, B., Blancou, J., Thomas, I., Languet, B., Artois, M., Kieny, M., Lecocq, J. P., Costy, F., Desmettre, P., Chappuis, G. & Pastoret, P. P. (1989 b). Use of recombinant vaccinia-rabies glycoprotein virus for oral vaccination of wildlife against rabies. Innocuity to several non-target bait consuming species. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 25, 540–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brochier, B., Thomas, I., Bauduin, B., Leveau, T., Pastoret, P. P., Languet, B., Chappuis, G., Desmettre, P., Blancou, J. & Artois, M. (1990). Use of vacciniarabies recombinant virus for the oral vaccination of foxes against rabies. Vaccine 8, 101–4.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brochier, B., Kieny, M., Costy, F., Coppens, P., Bauduin, B., Lecocq, J. P., Languet, B., Chappuis, G., Desmettre, P., Afiademanyo, K., Libois, R. & Pastoret, P. P. (1991). Large-scale eradication of rabies using recombinant vaccinia-rabies vaccine. Nature 354, 520–2.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brochier, B., Costy, F., Marchal, A., Peharpe, D., Mosselmans, F., Beyer, R., Bauduin, B. & Pastoret, P. P. (1994 a). Epidémio-surveillance de la rage en Belgique: bilan 1993. Annales de Médecine Vétérinaire 138, 199204.Google Scholar
Brochier, B., Boulanger, D., Costy, F. & Pastoret, P. P. (1994 b). Towards rabies elimination in Belgium by fox vaccination using a vaccinia-rabies glycoprotein recombinant virus. Vaccine 12, 1368–71.Google Scholar
Buller, R. M. L., Smith, G. L., Cremer, K., Notkins, A. L. & Moss, B. (1985). Decreased virulence of recombinant vaccinia-virus expression vectors is associated with a Thymidine-kinase-negative phenotype. Nature 317, 813.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kieny, M. P., Lathe, R., Drillien, R., Spehner, D., Skory, S., Schmitt, D., Wiktor, T., Koprowski, H. & Lecocq, J. P. (1984). Expression of rabies virus glycoprotein from a recombinant vaccinia-virus. Nature 312, 163–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Leblois, M., Tuffereau, C., Blancou, J., Artois, M., Aubert, A. & Flamand, A. (1990). Oral immunization of foxes with avirulent rabies virus mutants. Veterinary Microbiology 23, 259–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pastoret, P. P., Brochier, B., Languet, B., Thomas, I., Paquot, A., Bauduin, B., Kieny, M. P., Lecocq, J. P., Debruyn, J., Costy, F., Antoine, H. & Desmettre, P. (1988). First field trial of fox vaccination against rabies using a vaccinia-rabies recombinant virus. Veterinary Record 123, 481–3.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pastoret, P P., Brochier, B., Blancou, J., Artois, M., Aubert, M., Kieny, M. P., Lecocq, J. P., Languet, B., Chappvis, G. & Desmettre, P. (1992) Development and deliberate release of a vaccinia-rabies recombinant virus for the oral vaccination of foxes against rabies. In Recombinant Fox Viruses, Binns, M. M. and Smith, G. L., Editors. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Ann Arbor, London, Tokyo, 163206.Google Scholar
Pastoret, P. P., Boulanger, D. & Brochier, B. (1994). Warning: regulations can damage your health – the case of rabies. Current Opinion in Biotechnology 5, 239–43.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rupprecht, C. H., Charlton, K. M., Artois, M., Casey, G. A., Webster, W. A., Campbell, J. B., Lawson, K. F. & Schneider, L. G. (1990). Ineffectiveness and comparative pathogenicity of attenuated rabies virus vaccines for the striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis). Journal of Wildlife Diseases 20, 99102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rupprecht, C. H., Hanlon, C. A., Cummins, L. B. & Koprowski, H. (1992). Primate responses to a vaccinia-rabies glycoprotein recombinant virus vaccine (1992). Vaccine 10, 368–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rupprecht, C. H., Wiktor, T., Johnston, D. H., Glickman, L. T. & Koprowski, H. (1986). Oral immunization and protection of raccoons (Procyon lotor) with a vaccinia-rabies glycoprotein recombinant virus vaccine. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 83, 7947–90.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thomas, I., Brochier, B., Languet, B., Perharpre, D., Desmettre, P., Kieny, M. P. & Pastoret, P. P. (1990). Multiplication site of the vaccinia-rabies glycoprotein recombinant virus administered by the oral route in foxes. Journal of General Virology 71, 3742.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wiktor, T. J., MacFarlan, R. I., Reagan, K., Dirtzchold, B., Curtis, P., Wunner, W. H., Kieny, M. P., Lathe, R., Lecocq, J. P., Mackett, M., Moss, B. & Koprowski, H. (1984). Protection from rabies by a vaccinia-virus recombinant containing the rabies virus glycoprotein gene. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 81, 7194–8.Google Scholar