Efficacy and immunogenicity of a veterinary vaccine candidate against tick-borne encephalitis in dogs.

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is a severe neuroinfection of humans. Dogs are also commonly infected with tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV). These infections are usually asymptomatic, but sometimes show clinical signs similar to those seen in humans and can be fatal. To date, there is no TBEV vaccine available for use in dogs. To address this need, a TBEV vaccine candidate for dogs based on inactivated whole virus antigen was developed. The safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy of the vaccine candidate were tested in mice as the preclinical model and in dogs as the target organism. The vaccine was well tolerated in both species and elicited the production of specific anti-TBEV antibodies with virus neutralising activity. Vaccination of mice provided complete protection against the development of fatal TBE. Immunisation of dogs prevented the development of viremia after challenge infection. Therefore, the developed vaccine candidate is promising to protect dogs from severe TBEV infections.

Experimental and Natural Infections of Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus in Dogs.

Dogs are frequently infected with the tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV). However, to date, only a few clinically manifest cases of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) have been reported in dogs. In this study, three-month-old beagle dogs were infected with TBEV through a subcutaneous injection. Body temperature, clinical signs, blood haematology, blood biochemistry, and immune responses were monitored for up to 28 days postinfection (p.i.). No changes in body temperature or clinical signs were observed in the infected dogs. Most haematology and blood biochemistry parameters were unchanged after the infection, except for a slight reduction in blood lymphocyte counts, but they were within the physiological range. Low-titre viraemia was detected in 2/4 infected dogs between days 1 and 3 p.i. All infected dogs developed a robust immune response, in terms of neutralising antibodies. Thus, TBEV infections lead to effective seroconversion in dogs. Next, to assess TBEV exposure in dogs in the TBEV-endemic region of the Czech Republic, we conducted a serosurvey. Virus neutralisation tests revealed TBEV-specific antibodies in 17 of 130 (13.07%) healthy dogs, which confirmed a high, but clinically inappreciable TBEV exposure rate in the endemic area. The seropositivity rate was similar (12.7%; 41 positives out of 323) in a subgroup of dogs with various clinical disorders, and it was 13.4% (23 out of 171) in a subgroup of dogs with signs of acute neurological disease. Two dogs with fatal acute meningoencephalitis showed positive results for TBEV-specific IgM and IgG antibodies. These data extended our understanding of the clinical presentation of TBEV infections.

Efficacy of a live intranasal vaccine against parainfluenza type 3 and bovine respiratory syncytial virus in young calves with maternally derived antibodies.

TRIAL DESIGN: Two randomised controlled vaccination trials with artificial challenges were carried out in addition to a serological survey of levels of maternally derived antibodies (MDA) to parainfluenza type 3 virus (PI3V) and bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) in European calves. PARTICIPANTS: Ten-day-old calves with and without MDA were included in the two vaccine trials. INTERVENTIONS: Intranasal administration of a bivalent modified live (PI3V/BRSV) vaccine followed by artificial challenge approximately three months post vaccination. OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to assess the efficacy of a modified live respiratory vaccine, Bovalto Respi Intranasal (Boehringer Ingelheim). In order to assess the interference of MDA, both seropositive and seronegative calves were used. RANDOMISATION: PI3V and BRSV serological status was determined seven days before vaccination; calves without maternal antibodies became the MDA- vaccinates. Calves with MDA were ranked according to individual titres and allocated alternately to MDA+ vaccinate and MDA+ control groups. BLINDING: Treatment was carried out by the unblinded study director. Animal care and veterinary examinations were conducted by personnel unaware of the treatments received. The serological survey used blood samples obtained from calves on commercial farms in five European countries, Germany, Spain, Italy, Ireland and the UK, to determine the levels of MDA to PI3V and BRSV in calves approximately two weeks of age. RESULTS: A total of 36 calves were included in the two challenge studies and 32 of these completed the challenge studies. Twenty-one calves were included in the PI3V challenge study, with six of six MDA- and six of seven MDA+ vaccinated calves and five of five MDA+ unvaccinated control calves being challenged with PI3V. Fifteen calves were included in the BRSV challenge study, with five of five MDA- and five of five MDA+ vaccinated calves and five of five MDA+ unvaccinated control calves being challenged with BRSV. OUTCOME: For both challenges, clinical scores and nasal shedding were significantly higher in control animals compared with vaccinates (PI3V challenge: clinical scores P=0.001, nasal shedding P=0.001; BRSV challenge: clinical scores P=0.016, nasal shedding P=0.002) and not significantly different between MDA+ and MDA- vaccinated animals for both challenges (P>0.05). A total of 254 samples from six countries were tested in the serological survey of MDA. CONCLUSION: The results of the challenge studies demonstrated the efficacy of the vaccine in the presence of BRSV and PI3V MDA under laboratory conditions. The field assessment confirmed that the MDA titres in the MDA+ calves corresponded to those typically found on farms.

Development and testing of a new tick-borne encephalitis virus vaccine candidate for veterinary use.

In tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) endemic areas, consumption of unpasteurized milk or milk products from grazing domestic ruminants (goats, cattle, and sheep) represents a risk of TBE virus (TBEV) infection for humans. In addition to vaccination of humans, human alimentary TBEV infections can be avoided by pasteurizing milk or by vaccination of the ruminants. However, there is presently no TBEV vaccine for veterinary use. Here, we developed a new veterinary TBE vaccine candidate based on cell culture-derived, purified, and formaldehyde-inactivated TBEV (strain Hypr). The safety and immunogenicity of the vaccine was evaluated in mice and sheep and was well-tolerated while eliciting the production of high levels of virus-neutralizing antibodies. Vaccination provided full protection against lethal TBE in mice, prevented development of viremia in sheep and presence of TBEV in milk of lactating ewes. This vaccine is a good candidate for immunization of ruminants to prevent alimentary milk-borne TBEV infections in humans.