FIRST PEPTIDE VACCINE PROVIDING PROTECTION AGAINST VIRAL-INFECTION INTHE TARGET ANIMAL - STUDIES OF CANINE PARVOVIRUS IN DOGS

A synthetic peptide vaccine which protects dogs against challenge with virulent canine parvovirus is described. The amino acid sequence used was discovered in previous studies on the immunogenic properties of p reviously mapped antigenic sites and represents the amino-terminal reg ion of viral protein VP2. As with marker vaccines, it is possible to d iscriminate between vaccinated dogs that have not been exposed to the virus and dogs that have been infected with the virus. The protective mechanism can be explained by a humoral response against the peptide a ided by T-cell epitopes contained in the carrier protein used for pept ide coupling. This is the first example of a synthetic peptide vaccine that induces protection in target animals.