Immunization with modified vaccinia virus Ankara-based recombinant vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome is associated with enhanced hepatitis in ferrets.

Weingartl, Hana; Czub, Markus; Czub, Stefanie; Neufeld, James; Marszal, Peter; Gren, Jason; Smith, Greg; Jones, Shane; Proulx, Roxanne; Deschambault, Yvonne; Grudeski, Elsie; Andonov, Anton; He, Runtao; Li, Yan; Copps, John; Grolla, Allen; Dick, Daryl; Berry, Jody; Ganske, Shelley; Manning, Lisa; Cao, Jingxin

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) caused by a newly identified coronavirus (SARS-CoV) is a serious emerging human infectious disease. In this report, we immunized ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) with recombinant modified vaccinia virus Ankara (rMVA) expressing the SARS-CoV spike (S) protein. Immunized ferrets developed a more rapid and vigorous neutralizing antibody response than control animals after challenge with SARS-CoV; however, they also exhibited strong inflammatory responses in liver tissue. Inflammation in control animals exposed to SARS-CoV was relatively mild. Thus, our data suggest that vaccination with rMVA expressing SARS-CoV S protein is associated with enhanced hepatitis.