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

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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.