부산대학교 도서관

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is an acute tick-borne zoonotic disease. The disease has been reported in many countries of Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and in Eurasia. During the past decade, new foci of CCHF have emerged in the Balkan Peninsula, southwest Russia, the Middle East, western China, India, Africa, and Turkey. CCHF virus produces severe hemorrhagic manifestations in humans with fatality rates up to 30%. Vaccine development efforts have been significantly hampered by a lack of animal models and therefore, no protective vaccine has been achieved. Lately, IFN α/β receptor deficient (IFNAR−/−) mice have been established as a novel small animal model of CCHF virus infection. In the present study, we found that IFNAR−/− mice highly susceptible to CCHF virus Turkey-Kelkit06 strain. Immunization with the cell culture based vaccine elicited a significant level of protection against high dose challenge (1,000 PPFU) with a homologous CCHF virus in IFNAR−/− mice. Author Summary: The CCHF virus is one of the most geographically widespread tick-borne viruses, and has been reported in many countries of Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and in Eurasia. Since 2002, there have been more than 8000 cases in Turkey, with mortality rate around 5%, making CCHF a public health concern. There are currently no specific antiviral therapies or licensed vaccines for CCHF. Due to limitations in treatment options and difficulties posed by vector control vaccination remains the most logical method of disease control. In the present study, we showed that immunization with the cell culture based vaccine against CCHF elicited a significant level of protection against a high dose challenge (1,000 PPFU) with a homologous CCHF virus Turkey-Kelkit06 strain in IFNAR−/− mice. The animals vaccinated with 5, 20, 40 μg dose of the cell culture based vaccine were partially protected (60%, 80% and 80% protection, respectively) with a significant delay in time to death. Neutralizing antibody responses are essential for the increased of protection in the mice vaccinated with the cell culture based vaccine but this cannot be the only mechanism of protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]