Project Number: 5410-32000-014-10
Project Type: Specific Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Sep 01, 2005
End Date: Aug 31, 2010

Objective:
To develop diagnostic reagents and vaccines for RVF that can be safely produced and distributed in North America.

Approach:
Neither ARS nor the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has modern validated diagnostic tests or vaccines for Rift Valley Fever. ARS and CFIA will collaborate to generate reagents to develop modern diagnostic tests and evaluate candidate vaccines. CFIA will conduct experimental infection studies necessary to evaluate the diagnostic tests. ABADRL will develop an immunohistochemical protocol using fixed (virus-inactivated) tissue samples generated. ABADRL and CFIA will collaborate on immunologic dose response studies to determine the optimal vaccination protocol. CFIA will then test the optimized vaccine protocol for efficacy by virulent challenge studies.