title: A candidate phocid herpesvirus vaccine that provides protection against feline herpesvirus infection.
abstract: Phocid herpesvirus type 1 (PhHV-1) causes significant morbidity and mortality among young and immunocompromised harbour seals. Therefore, the availability of an effective PhHV-1 vaccine would be of importance for orphanages and seal rehabilitation centres. Since possibilities to test PhHV-1 candidate vaccines in the target species are limited, a suitable animal model is needed. Given the close genetic and antigenic relationships between PhHV-1 and feline herpesvirus (FHV), the FHV cat system could be considered to test candidate PhHV-1 vaccines. Here we have tested a PhHV-1 based ISCOM vaccine for its protective efficacy against FHV infection in cats. To this end, three groups of cats were vaccinated thrice with ISCOM adjuvanted PhHV-1, FHV, and mock vaccines, respectively. One month after the last vaccination, all cats were challenged with a virulent FHV strain. All PhHV-1 and FHV vaccinated cats were protected from developing severe disease and excreted significantly less FHV than the mock vaccinated cats.
authors.affiliation: Seal Rehabilitation and Research Centre, Pieterburen, 9968 AG Pieterburen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: B E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Martina
authors.forename: M I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Airikkala
authors.forename: T C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Harder
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: van Amerongen
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Osterhaus
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D002415:Cats; D003429:Cross Reactions; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006564:Herpesviridae / Q000276:immunology* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000662:veterinary*; D016882:ISCOMs / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D009500:Neutralization Tests; D012449:Safety; D046048:Seals, Earless / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology*; D013045:Species Specificity; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D014765:Viral Vaccines / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D016882:ISCOMs; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D014765:Viral Vaccines