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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #84892
Title: A RECOMBINANT CANARYPOX VIRUS PROTECTS RABBITS AGAINST A LETHAL RABBIT HEMORRHAGIC DISEASE VIRUS (RHDV) CHALLENGE

Author
item FISCHER, LAURENT - VIROGENETICS CORP.,NY
item FRANCOIS-XAVIER, LE GROS - RHONE MERIEUX,LYON,FRANCE
item Mason, Peter
item PAOLETTI, ENZO - VIROGENETICS CORP., NY

Submitted to: Vaccine
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/22/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) is a member of the Caliciviridae which causes an economically important disease of rabbits, that is not present in the United States. A recent outbreak of the disease in Australia, has documented its threat to disease-free nations and continents. Although vaccines can be prepared from animal-derived material, the absence of a tissue culture propagation system has interfere with an understanding of the agent, and the large-scale production of vaccines. In this report, we show that an avipox virus, canarypox (ALVAC), which is naturally host range restricted, can be used to express the capsid protein of RHDV. Rabbits inoculated with the ALVAC-RHDV recombinant did not suffer any effects of inoculation, developed an immune response that recognized RHDV, and were protected from RHD, when exposed to the virus. These studies will help in the development of recombinant vaccines that can nbe safely used to protect rabbits from this important disease.

Technical Abstract: An ALVAC (canarypox)-based recombinant virus ALVAC-RHDV (vCP309) expressing a native rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) capsid protein was derived and assessed for its protective efficacy in rabbits. Protection against a lethal RHDV challenge was demonstrated in rabbits inoculated twice with either high (10 million p.f.u.) or low (100 thousand p.f.u.) doses of vCP309. However, animals in the high dose group developed significantly higher antibody response. These results have implications that are relavant to the development of a safe rabbit hemorrhagic disease (RHD) vaccine and further illustrate the utility of the ALVAC vector system to elicit protective immune responses in nonavian species.