Protection of Cattle against Rinderpest by Vaccination with Wild-Type but Not Attenuated Strains of Peste des Petits Ruminants Virus

Abstract

Although rinderpest virus (RPV) has been eradicated in the wild, efforts are still continuing to restrict the extent to which live virus is distributed in facilities around the world and to prepare for any reappearance of the disease, whether through deliberate or accidental release. In an effort to find an alternative vaccine which could be used in place of the traditional live attenuated RPV strains, we have determined whether cattle can be protected from rinderpest by inoculation with vaccine strains of the related morbillivirus, peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV). Cattle were vaccinated with wild-type PPRV or either of two established PPRV vaccine strains, Nigeria/75/1 or Sungri/96. All animals developed antibody and T cell immune responses to the inoculated PPRV. However, only the animals given wild-type PPRV were protected from RPV challenge. Animals given PPRV/Sungri/96 were only partially protected, and animals given PPRV/Nigeria/75/1 showed no protection against RPV challenge. While sera from animals vaccinated with the vaccine strain of RPV showed cross-neutralizing ability against PPRV, none of the sera from animals vaccinated with any strain of PPRV was able to neutralize RPV although sera from animals inoculated with wild-type PPRV were able to neutralize RPV-pseudotyped vesicular stomatitis virus. IMPORTANCE Rinderpest virus has been eradicated, and it is only the second virus for which this is so. Significant efforts are still required to ensure preparedness for a possible escape of RPV from a laboratory or its deliberate release. Since RPV vaccine protects sheep and goats from PPRV, it is important to determine if the reverse is true as this would provide a non-RPV vaccine for dealing with suspected RPV outbreaks. This is probably the last in vivo study with live RPV that will be approved.

Future research to underpin successful peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) eradication

“…Immune responses to morbilliviruses show significant levels of crossprotection against infection with other species of morbilliviruses [13,82]. Accordingly, the eradication of one species of morbillivirus and the subsequent cessation of vaccination may have long-term consequences on host immunity to zoonotic infections with other morbilliviruses.…”

Enhanced immunosurveillance for animal morbilliviruses using vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) pseudotypes

“…Neutralising antibody titres were measured in sera from cattle infected previously [23] with either PPRV/Ivory Coast/89 (IC89, wild type lineage 1), PPRV/Nigeria/75/1 (N75, vaccine lineage 2), PPRV/Sungri/96 (S96, vaccine lineage 4) or the Plowright vaccine strain of RPV (RBOK). Sera were screened for ability to neutralize pseudotypes bearing the glycoproteins of the widely used PPRV vaccine strain N75, four field strains representative of lineages 1–4 (Senegal 1969, Benin 2010, Kenya 2011 and Ethiopia 2010), and RPV Kabete O.…”

“…Sera were collected from ruminants exposed to PPRV, RPV or PPRV and RPV vaccines. Samples from cattle vaccinated with live attenuated PPRV, RPV, and wild type PPRV have been described previously [23]. Miscellaneous sera from goats, sheep and cattle infected with either PPRV or RPV were obtained from The Pirbright Institute, Surrey, UK and the Joint United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Biotechnology and Agriculture Laboratories (Joint FAO/IAEA), Seibersdorf, Austria.…”

“…The construction of the RPV H and F expression plasmids and those for the vaccine strain of PPRV (PPRV/Nigeria/75/1) has been previously described [23]. Primary PPRV H and F cDNAs were amplified from viral RNA.…”

Advances in peste des petits ruminants vaccines

“…Likewise, RPV vaccine strain elicits antibodies in goats that neutralize RPV but exhibits only trace neutralizing ability against PPRV (Taylor, 1979). More recently, inoculation of PPRV vaccine into cattle has been shown to elicit antibody and cell mediated immune response but failed to protect against virulent RPV challenge (Holzer et al, 2016a). When two independently developed PPRV vaccine strains (Nigeria/75 and Sungri/96) along with a virulent strain of PPRV were used to inoculate cattle, a cross protection against virulent RPV was observed only when virulent PPRV was inoculated in cattle (Holzer et al, 2016a), a finding which is in accordance with very early studies where crude material from animals suffering from PPR was shown to protect cattle from rinderpest (Mornet et al, 1956a).…”