Oral immunization and protection of raccoons (Procyon lotor) with a vaccinia-rabies glycoprotein recombinant virus vaccine.

Abstract

Animal rabies control has been frustrated by the existence of multiple wildlife reservoirs and the lack of efficacious oral vaccines. In this investigation, racoons fed a vaccinia-rabies glycoprotein recombinant virus in a sponge bait developed rabies virus-neutralizing antibody (0.6-54.0 units) and resisted street rabies virus infection 28 and 205 days after feeding. Additional racoons immunized by oral infusion with attenuated antigenic variants of rabies virus strains CVS-11 and ERA failed to develop rabies virus-neutralizing antibody. This work demonstrates the feasibility of a recombinant virus vaccine containing the rabies glycoprotein gene for immunization of racoons, and possibly other wildlife, to obtain longterm protection against rabies.