Field Use of a Vaccinia-Rabies Recombinant Vaccine for the Control of Sylvatic Rabies in Europe and North America

During recent years, most research on the control of sylvatic rabies has concentrated on developing methods of oral vaccination of wild rabies vectors. To improve both the safety and the stability of the vaccine used, a recombinant vaccinia virus, which expresses the immunising glycoprotein of rabies virus (VRG), has been developed and tested extensively in the laboratory as well as in the field. From 1989 to 1995, approximately 8.5 million VRG vaccine doses were dispersed in Western Europe to vaccinate red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), and in the United States of America (USA) to vaccinate raccoons (Procyon lotor) and coyotes (Canis latrans). In Europe, the use of VRG has led to the elimination of sylvatic rabies from large areas of land, which have consequently been freed from the need for vaccination. Nevertheless, despite very good examples of cross-border cooperation, reinfections have occurred in some regions, due to the difficulty of co-ordinating vaccination plans among neighbouring countries. In the USA, preliminary data from field trails indicate a significant reduction in the incidence of rabies in vaccinated areas.