Award details

Development of chimaeric recombinant vaccines

Reference	BBS/E/I/00000720
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Professor Thomas Barrett
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors
Institution	The Pirbright Institute
Department	The Pirbright Institute Department
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	110,638
Status	Completed
Type	Institute Project
Start date	01/04/1997
End date	30/09/1999
Duration	30 months

Abstract

Peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) is a highly contagious morbillivirus infecting sheep, goats and other small ruminants. From its original source in west Africa it has now spread throughout the Near and Middle East and across southern Asia as far as Bangladesh. The economic consequences of this epizootic have been very severe. At present the vaccine used to prevent PPRV infection is the vaccine strain of rinderpest virus (RPV), a related morbillivirus infecting cattle, buffalo and other large ruminants. This vaccine cannot be used indefinitely, however, since it is hoped that RPV will soon be eradicated from most of these areas and it is important to have all animals, including small ruminants, free of RPV-specific antibodies. In order to overcome this problem, and also to make the RPV vaccine more specific to PPRV, we have used reverse genetics techniques to produce a chimeric RPV/PPRV vaccine where the surface glycoprotein genes (haemagglutinin and fusion protein genes) of the RPV vaccine have been replaced by the corresponding genes of PPRV. Experiments are currently being carried out to study the growth of the chimeric virus in tissue culture cells while the immunogenicity and pathogenicity of the virus is being studied in goats. This type of vaccine would be distinguishable serologically from natural infection with either RPV or PPRV and its would will enable serological surveys to detect the presence of either disease in the field in the presence of vaccinated animals.

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Closed Committee - Animal Sciences (AS)
Research Topics	X – not assigned to a current Research Topic
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	X - not in an Initiative
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

I accept the terms and conditions of use (opens in new window)

export PDF file

back to list new search