title: A recombinant rabies virus (ERAGS) for use in a bait vaccine for swine.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Rabies viruses (RABV) circulating worldwide in various carnivores occasionally cause fatal encephalitis in swine. In this study, the safety and immunogenicity of a recombinant rabies virus, the ERAGS strain constructed with a reverse genetics system, was evaluated in domestic pigs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Growing pigs were administered 1 mL (10(8.0) FAID50/mL) of the ERAGS strain via intramuscular (IM) or oral routes and were observed for 4 weeks' post-inoculation. Three sows were also inoculated with 1 mL of the ERAGS strain via the IM route. The safety and immunogenicity in swine were evaluated using daily observation and a virus-neutralizing assay (VNA). Fluorescent antibody tests (FAT) for the RABV antigen and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays for the detection of the nucleocapsid (N) gene of RABV were conducted with brain tissues from the sows after necropsy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The growing pigs and sows administered the ERAGS strain did not exhibit any clinical sign of rabies during the test period test and did develop VNA titers. The growing pigs inoculated with the ERAGS strain via the IM route showed higher VNA titers than did those receiving oral administration. FAT and RT-PCR assays were unable to detect RABV in several tissues, including brain samples from the sows.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that the ERAGS strain was safe in growing pigs and sows and induced moderate VNA titers in pigs.
authors.affiliation: Viral Disease Division, Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, MAFRA, Gimcheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Dong-Kun
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5765-3043
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Viral Disease Division, Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, MAFRA, Gimcheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Ha-Hyun
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6473-0035
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Viral Disease Division, Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, MAFRA, Gimcheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Sung-Suk
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5124-9736
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Viral Disease Division, Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, MAFRA, Gimcheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Seong Heon
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-6024-3798
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Viral Disease Division, Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, MAFRA, Gimcheon, Korea.
authors.forename: In-Soo
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2692-3191
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Cho
keywords: Rabies; Swine; Vaccines