Large-scale eradication of rabies using recombinant vaccinia-rabies vaccine

Abstract

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.

Use of SV40 to immunize against hepatitis B surface antigen: implications for the use of SV40 for gene transduction and its use as an immunizing agent

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An ecological approach to preventing human infection: Vaccinating wild mouse reservoirs intervenes in the Lyme disease cycle

“…The immunological response need not be life-long; it need only be efficacious during the larval host-seeking period, which is Ϸ2 months in the northeastern United States. The successful application of oral recombinant rabies vaccine in food bait in enzootic areas in the United States and Europe demonstrates the feasibility as well as public and regulatory acceptance of field vaccination against zoonoses (45,46).…”

Cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of multi-walled carbon nanotubes with human ocular cells

“…Carbon nanotubes (CNTs), including single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and MWCNTs, have attracted much interest since Iijima [1,2] first reported in 1991. Since that time CNTs have been studied in a range of diverse applications including biological, chemical and electrical [3][4][5][6][7][8] owing to their unique mechanical, electronic and thermal properties [9,10].…”