Pathogenesis and immune response of vaccinated and unvaccinated rhesus monkeys to tick-borne encephalitis virus

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Abstract
The rhesus monkey was used as a model for diseases caused by viruses of the tick-borne encephalitis virus complex to study the and safety of a commercial killed vaccine. Animals infected i.v. developed a subclinical infection with no histopathological lesions but with transient clinical chemical changes that included elevated transaminase, dehydrogenase and creatine kinase activities and that declined as an immune response developed. The immune response was detected as neutralizing antibody in serum and serum antibody to several viral proteins. Antibodies to viral envelope protein and 2 other infected cell-specific polypeptides were also detected. Intranasal infection resulted in a disease resembling that in humans, except that no pyrexia was observed. Clinical chemical changes similar to those in i.v. infected monkeys developed, but most animals died before an immune repsonse was mounted. Thus, the commercial vaccine protects animals against a wild-type virus isolate and elicits an effective immune reaction without any evidence of an immune enhancement phenomenon or adverse side effects as judged by clinical observation, clinical chemistry and histopathology.