First development of antirrabies vaccine using the canarypox vector platform in Latin American

MATÍAS MICUCCI; FLAVIA ZANETTI; LILIANA RUDAK; ROSANA JURADO; JAVIER DE FILIPPO; DÉBORA GARANZINI; OSCAR PÉREZ; GABRIELA CALAMANTE

Toronto

Congreso; XXIV RITA Canada; 2013

Centro de Salud Pública y Zoonosis (CPHAZ), Colegio Veterinario de Ontario, Universidad de Guelph Guelph, ON,Canadá

Rabies in Argentina is limited to a vulnerable area that includes the northern states of the country. Usually, cases are under control and those that appear would be originated by the passage of dogs without vaccination through the neighboring frontiers. Also, modifications in migratory patterns of bats (reservoir of rabies virus), as a consequence of climatic changes, cause the appearance of isolated cases in pets and livestock, in the central region of the country. This year, Argentina has discontinued the use of first generation antirrabies vaccines, in agreement with OMS/OPS recommendations. Currently, the vaccines are elaborated by viral amplification in cellular culture and chemical inactivation. These vaccines are imported or manufactured by local private companies according to be administered to humans or used for veterinary purposes, respectively. In this context, the aim of our work was the development of new antirrabies vaccines vectorized by poxvirus. Firstly, a recombinant canarypox virus expressing the glycoprotein of rabies virus was obtained (CNPV-RG). Until now, the immunogen showed promising potency results when evaluated in mice, with antigenic values up to 3.5 UI/mL and high titres of neutralizing antibodies which remained for a period longer than a year. Potency tests after lyophilization and conservation at different temperatures demonstrate that this vaccine conferred protection after their storing for 6 months at 4ºC or 25 ºC. In order to overcome the effectiveness of the CNPV-RG, a new recombinant canarypox virus expressing both the glycoprotein and the nucleoprotein of rabies virus is being obtained.