Related Experiment Videos
Oral rabies vaccination: an overview.
1Viral and Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, Centers for Disease Control, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30246-0363.
Reviews of Infectious Diseases
|November 1, 1988
Summary
Wild animal vaccination against rabies began in 1962. Early research focused on foxes, leading to successful laboratory and field trials of attenuated vaccines by 1978.
Area of Science:
- Veterinary Medicine
- Wildlife Disease Control
- Immunology
Background:
- Rabies transmission in wildlife necessitates control methods beyond traditional poisoning or trapping.
- Early vaccination attempts aimed for efficacy, affordability, self-immunization, and safety in target species.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the historical development and initial requirements for wild animal rabies vaccination.
- To highlight key milestones in the research and field application of rabies vaccines for wildlife.
Main Methods:
- Historical review of rabies control strategies in wild animals.
- Focus on the development of attenuated vaccines and their application in research and field trials.
Main Results:
- The first attempts at wild animal vaccination against rabies occurred in 1962.
- Successful laboratory studies with attenuated vaccines were achieved by 1971.
- The first successful field trial was conducted in Switzerland starting in 1978, primarily involving foxes.
Conclusions:
- Foxes were selected for early research due to their susceptibility and role in rabies transmission.
- The development of effective and safe wildlife rabies vaccines has been a gradual process.
- Field immunization of other wild species has not yet been achieved.