The Efficacy of Two Vaccination Schemes Against Experimental Infection with a Virulent Amyxomatous or a Virulent Nodular Myxoma Virus Strain

Abstract

Two types of myxomatosis vaccine are available commercially, namely, vaccine prepared from the Shope fibroma virus (SFV) and that prepared from an attenuated myxoma virus (MV) strain, e.gSG33. An experiment was designed to compare two vaccination schemes for their ability to protect rabbits against challenge with either a virulent amyxomatous MV strain or a virulent nodular MV strain. Apart from a difference in the cutaneous expression of the disease, the two challenge strains resembled each other in respect of mortality rate, naso-conjunctival shedding of virus, and tissue infection. Vaccination with SFV alone failed to prevent clinical signs, naso-conjunctival shedding or tissue infection. Vaccination with SFV followed by a booster inoculation with SG33 protected rabbits against the development of clinical signs and significantly reduced both viral shedding in naso-conjunctival exudates and viral infection of eyelids, lungs and testes; virus was, however, isolated from testes of some surviving animals.