Author
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BROWN, FRED - YALE UNIVERSITY |
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Submitted to: Developments in Biological Standardization
Publication Type: Other Publication Acceptance Date: 1/1/1991 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Preparation of foot-and-mouth disease vaccines by inactivating the virus with formaldehyde does not always provide a totally killed product. Consequently their use sometimes led to outbreaks of the disease. By using an imine as the inactivant this problem has been overcome. Technical Abstract: Most foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccines are prepared by inactivating the virus with acetylethyleneimine or binary ethyleneimine. However, formaldehyde is still used by some manufacturers despite the well manufacturers despite the well-documented evidence that inactivation with this reagent is not a linear or first-order reaction. Recent German work provides clear evidence that almost all the outbreaks in Western Europe in recent years have been caused by viruses closely related to strains which were isolated more than 20 years ago and are used for the production of vaccines. Moreover, with one exception, all the vaccines connected with the outbreaks were prepared by formaldehyde inactivation. The implications of these outbreaks are both immediate and longer term. The immediate effect is that they severely disrupt trading in meat and dairy products. The longer term effect has been the decision to abandon vaccination in Western Europe. This could have serious implications as trading with Eastern European countries will be expected to increase in the immediate future. |
