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8. Studies of SARS virus vaccines   Funds : Research Fund for the Control of Infectious Diseases (investigator-initiated projects) Project Status : Closed Reference No. : 01030292 Project Title : Studies of SARS virus vaccines Applicant(s) : Zheng B Guan Y Affiliation(s) : Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong Approved Amount (HK$) : $805,000.00 Abstract : A novel coronavirus is the primary etiological agent of the recent global outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Although SARS has been under the control now, epidemiologists and scientists in the world have predicted that the outbreak may be recurrent in the coming winter. Vaccine development for the prevention of SARS is urgently needed. In our recent study, five strains of SARS-associated coronavirus (SCoV) and five strains of SCoV-like viruses were respectively isolated from SARS patients and civets or racoon-dogs. In a primary study, we have demonstrated that SCoV could be inactivated by formalin treatment while retaining the antigenicity to induce neutralizing antibodies in mice, as well as the inactivated virus reduced the replication of the live virus by 3.6-4.6 logs of TCID50. Based on this reasoning, we propose to develop SCoV vaccines for prevention of SARS. The study objectives are developments of an inactivated vaccine and a cold attenuated live vaccine. These SARS vaccine candidates will be evaluated and compared in animal models. The new knowledge gained from this study will provide the theoretical and practical basis for development of effective means for prevention of SARS, as well as a platform for emergency preparation against other respiratory tract transmitted infectious agents or against sudden attack of aerosal bioterrorism. The duration of this study is 24 months at a proposed budget of HK$ 0.8 million. Keywords : SARS, Coronavirus, Vaccines, Animal models, Immune responses, Neutralizing antibody, Inactivated, Attenuated, Prevention Instruments : Remarks : Dissemination Report : [PDF file] 01030292dr.pdf Final Report : [PDF file] 01030292fr.pdf [add to bookmark]

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Last revision date: 15 August 2006