title: Genetic strain modification of a live rabies virus vaccine widely used in Europe for wildlife oral vaccination.
abstract: In Europe, the main reservoir and vector of rabies has been the red fox (Vulpes vulpes). Oral immunization of foxes with live vaccines, using attenuated rabies strains (SAD B19, SAD Bern), apathogenic mutants of an attenuated strain (SAG2) and the vaccinia-rabies glycoprotein recombinant virus vaccine (V-RG), has been shown to be the most effective method for the control and elimination of rabies. Among all vaccines currently used for wildlife oral vaccination, one vaccine (marketed as SAD Bern strain) has been widely used in Europe since 1992 with the distribution of 17million of baits in 2011. Because of the potential environmental safety risk of a live virus which could revert to virulence, the full genome sequencing of this vaccine was undertaken and the sequence was characterized and compared with those of referenced rabies viruses. The vaccine showed higher similarity to the strains belonging to the SAD B19 vaccine virus strains than to the SAD Bern vaccines. This study is the first one reporting on virus strain identity changes in this attenuated vaccine.
authors.affiliation: French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES), Nancy Laboratory for Rabies and Wildlife, European Union Reference Laboratory for Rabies, European Union Reference Laboratory for Rabies Serology, WHO Collaborating Centre for Research & Management in Zoonoses Control, OIE Reference Laboratory for Rabies, Technopôle agricole et vétérinaire, BP 40 009, 54 220 Malzéville Cedex, France. Electronic address: florence.cliquet@anses.fr.
authors.forename: Florence
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cliquet
authors.forename: Emmanuelle
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Robardet
authors.forename: Evelyne
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Picard Meyer
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D005060:Europe; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D011818:Rabies / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D011819:Rabies Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D011820:Rabies virus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D014613:Vaccines, Attenuated / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D011819:Rabies Vaccines; D014613:Vaccines, Attenuated
keywords: EC; EDQM; ERA; European commission; European directorate for the quality of medicines & healthcare; Evelyn Rokitnicki Abelseth; G; L; M; N; Nucleotide mutation; OIE; ORV; Oral vaccination; P; Phylogeny; RNA-dependent RNA polymerase; RV; Rabies vaccine; SAD; Sequencing; Street Alabama Dufferin; V-RG; WHO; World Health Organization; World Organization for Animal Health; glycoprotein; matrix; nucleoprotein; oral rabies vaccination; phosphoprotein; rabies virus; vaccinia glycoprotein recombinant