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Vaccines for Rift Valley Fever and Avian Influenza
There is a critical need for improved vaccines for zoonotic diseases of economic and public health applications, such as Rift Valley Fever (RVF) and Avian Influenza (AI). In addition to safety, efficacy, and the ability to manufacture sufficient quantities of vaccine, FAZD Center investigators are using modern recombinant technologies to incorporate genetic “markers” into RVF and AI vaccines to make it possible to distinguish vaccinated livestock from infected livestock. In an outbreak, this property will prevent unnecessary slaughter of animals and avert further damage to the economy through trade restrictions. It will also lessen challenges to the capacity for carcass disposal. Candidate vaccines are ready for initial field testing.
Rift Valley Fever vaccine
Principal Investigator: Dr. Tilahun Yilma,
University of California, Davis. Director, International Laborator of
molecular Biology for Tropical Disease Agents and Professor of
Virology. Research interests in Rift Valley fever and foot and mouth
disease. Published research.
The purpose of this project is to develop a highly immunogenic vaccine for the prevention of Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) infection using recombinant vaccinia virus technology. Our lab has previously employed this technology in the development of successful vaccines against the rabies and rinderpest viruses. This vaccinia virus vector will be highly attenuated by the deletion of two virulence genes, B8R and thymidine kinase (TK), as well as by the expression of human Interferon-gamma (huIFNγ). B8R increases the virulence of vaccinia virus by binding to and inactivating IFNγ, and previous studies have demonstrated the marked reduction of virulence in vaccinia virus negative for TK. The expression of huIFNγ will allow for protection against those who vaccinate in the case of accidental self-inoculation. Previous studies conducted by the International Laboratory of Molecular Biology for Tropical Disease Agents (ILMB) at UC Davis have elucidated the ability of IFNγ expression to attenuate the virus by approximately one million-fold. Efficacy will be achieved by the expression of the highly immunogenic glycoproteins of RVFV, G1 and G2. Neutralizing antibodies to these glycoproteins have previously been demonstrated to protect against infection with RVFV.
Three Year Annual Report (2007)