Effect of the Route of Administration of the Vaccinia Virus Strain LIVP to Mice on Its Virulence and Immunogenicity.

The mass smallpox vaccination campaign has played a crucial role in smallpox eradication. Various strains of the vaccinia virus (VACV) were used as a live smallpox vaccine in different countries, their origin being unknown in most cases. The VACV strains differ in terms of pathogenicity exhibited upon inoculation of laboratory animals and reactogenicity exhibited upon vaccination of humans.

New effective chemically synthesized anti-smallpox compound NIOCH-14.

Antiviral activity of the new chemically synthesized compound NIOCH-14 (a derivative of tricyclodicarboxylic acid) in comparison with ST-246 (the condensed derivative of pyrroledione) was observed in experiments in vitro and in vivo using orthopoxviruses including highly pathogenic ones. After oral administration of NIOCH-14 to outbred ICR mice infected intranasally with 100 % lethal dose of ectromelia virus, it was shown that 50 % effective doses of NIOCH-14 and ST-246 did not significantly differ. The 'therapeutic window' varied from 1 day before infection to 6 days post-infection (p.

Using ICR and SCID mice as animal models for smallpox to assess antiviral drug efficacy.

The possibility of using immunocompetent ICR mice and immunodeficient SCID mice as model animals for smallpox to assess antiviral drug efficacy was investigated. Clinical signs of the disease did not appear following intranasal (i.n.

A study of systems for delivering antigens and plasmid DNA for intranasal immunization against tick-borne encephalitis virus.

Our previous studies indicated the possibility for some neurotropic viruses to spread into the brain of immune animals through the olfactory pathway. Thus, nasal mucosa in the olfactory region is likely to be a promising target for mucosal immunization to protect the CNS from neurotropic viral infections. THE MAIN IDEA OF THE RESEARCH: Intranasal immunization inducing mucosal and systemic immune responses blocks the propagation of neurotropic virus into the brain via the olfactory pathway and neutralizes the multiplication of virus in visceral organs, allowing more effective protection against neurotropic infections transmitted by bloodsucking arthropods to be achieved.