Rabies infection of domestic and wild animals is a serious problem throughout the world. The major disease vector in Europe is the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and rabies control has focused on vaccinating and/or culling foxes. Culling has not been effective, and the distribution of five vaccine baits is the only appropriate method for the vaccination of wild foxes. Although some European countries have conducted field vaccination campaigns using attenuated rabies virus strains, their use has not been extensively approved because they retain pathogenicity for rodents and can revert to virulence. These strains cannot be used in North America because they are pathogenic for the striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) and are ineffective in the raccoon (Procyon lotor). We have constructed a recombinant vaccinia virus, VVTGgRAB, expressing the surface glycoprotein (G) of rabies virus (ERA strain). The recombinant was a highly effective vaccine in experimental animals, in captive foxes and in raccoons. We report here the results of a large-scale campaign of fox vaccination in a 2,200 km2 region of southern Belgium, an area in which rabies is prevalent. After distribution, 81% of foxes inspected were positive for tetracycline, a biomarker included in the vaccine bait and, other than one rabid fox detected close to the periphery of the treated area, no case of rabies, either in foxes or in domestic livestock, has been reported in the area.

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Rabies, a viral disease affecting all warm-blooded animals, is prevalent in most parts of the world, 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 titers of rabies-neutralizing antibodies equal or superior to those obtained with conventional vaccine, and 10(8) plaque-forming units (PFU) of VVTGgRAB administered subcutaneously, intradermally or orally confers complete protection to severe challenge infection with street rabies virus.

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