Oral vaccination of the fox against rabies using a live recombinant vaccinia virus

J. Blancou*, M. P. Kieny, R. Lathe, J. P. Lecocq, P. P. Pastore, J. P. Soulebot, P. Desmettre

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

Rabies, a viral disease affecting all warm-blooded animals, is prevalent in most parts of the world1, where it propagates amongst wild animals, particularly the fox and dog. The public health and economic consequences of infection in man and livestock are well known. Attempts to control the disease by vaccinating wild carnivores with inactivated or attenuated rabies virus remain controversial, and we have instead evaluated here the potential of a recombinant vaccinia virus to protect foxes against the disease. We have found that the administration of vaccinia virus (VV) or a recombinant harbouring the rabies surface antigen gene (VVTGgRAB) is innocuous to foxes. The recombinant virus can elicit the production of titres of rabies-neutralizing antibodies equal or superior to those obtained with conventional vaccine, and 10 8 plaque-forming units (PFU) of VVTGIgRAB administered subcutaneously, intradermally or orally confers complete protection to severe challenge infection with street rabies virus.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)373-375
Number of pages3
JournalNature
Volume322
Issue number6077
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1986

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