Merial, a world-leading animal health company producing pharmaceutical products and vaccines for livestock, pets, and wildlife, has developed an innovative oral rabies vaccine (Raboral V-RG®) targeting wildlife.
The underlying technology for Raboral V-RG® was developed at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, and acquired by Merial through a nonexclusive license.
Rabies is a preventable viral disease of mammals transmitted most often through bites from infected animals. More than 90 percent of all cases reported annually to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now occur in wildlife, and the species most frequently infected are skunks, raccoons, foxes, and bats.
The rabies virus attacks the central nervous system, leading to paralysis and ultimately death. While human rabies deaths are rare in the United States, the estimated public health costs associated with disease detection, prevention, and control exceed $300 million each year.
Dr. Bernard Moss and colleagues at NIAID developed the poxvirus technology used in Raboral V-RG®. This method allows the high-level expression of an inserted gene. Poxviruses are excellent candidates for immunizing vectors because of their large genome size, possession of their own transcriptional regulatorysequences, broad host cell range, and lack of infectivity of isolated viral DNA. Recombinant DNA technology has made it possible to express genes of one organism within another.
However, many of the commonly used viral vectors such as adenovirus, retrovirus, and papillomavirus have limitations that reduce their effectiveness as vaccine vectors. Generally, these viruses have a narrow host range and are unable to accommodate large amounts of DNA. Pox-viruses, although difficult to recombine in vitro, do not have these limitations.
Raboral V-RG® is a safe and highly specialized recombinant poxvirus vaccine. The vaccine has only one rabies virus gene, so the risk of causing rabies is eliminated.
Raboral V-RG® is encased in solid fishmeal baits that are eaten by raccoons and coyotes in the wild. Each year, approximately 12 million doses of Raboral V-RG®, incorporated in bait units, are distributed by airplane, helicopter, or by hand to reach the target animals. Immunity is achieved approximately 10 to 14 days after the vaccine is ingested.
Rabies causes extreme suffering and pain in infected animals, and the symptoms include fever, headache, hallucinations, and confusion.
Death usually occurs within days of the onset of symptoms. Raboral V-RG® helps spare pets, livestock, and wildlife this fate.
