Experimental immunization of cats with a recombinant rabies-canine adenovirus vaccine elicits a long-lasting neutralizing antibody response against rabies

During the past decade, human rabies caused by cats has ranked the second highest in China. Several recombinant rabies vaccines have been developed for dogs. However, seldom have these vaccines been assessed or used in cats. In this trial, we report the experimental immunization of a recombinant canine adenovirus-rabies vaccine, CAV-2-E3Delta-RGP, in cats. Thirty cats were inoculated with the recombinant vaccine intramuscularly, orally and intranasally, respectively. Safety and efficacy studies were undertaken using the fluorescent antibody virus neutralization (FAVN) test and evaluated. Results showed that this recombinant vaccine is safe for cats as demonstrated by the three different routes of administration. The vaccine stimulated an efficient humoral response in the vaccinated cats when 10(8.5)PFU/ml of the recombinant vaccine was injected intramuscularly in a single dose. The neutralizing antibody level increased above 0.5IU/ml at 4 weeks after the vaccination. The mean antibody level ranged from 0.96+/-0.26 to 4.47+/-1.57IU/ml among individuals, and the antibody levels were elicited for at least 12 months. After this period, the immunized cats survived the challenge of CVS-24 and an obvious anemnestic and protective immune response was stimulated after the challenge. The immune response occurred later than the inactivated vaccine and the overall antibody level in the vaccinated cats was lower, but it was sufficient to confer protection of cats against infection. This demonstrated that a single, intramuscular dose of CAV-2-E3Delta-RGP stimulated a long-lasting protective immune response in cats and suggested that CAV-2-E3Delta-RGP could be considered as a potential rabies vaccine candidate for cats.