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Vaccines
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Advances in Rabies Vaccination
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Advances in Rabies Vaccination

A special issue of Vaccines (ISSN 2076-393X). This special issue belongs to the section "Veterinary Vaccines".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 1983

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ye Feng

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing 100071, China
Interests: rabies virus; epidemiology; humoral immunity
Dr. Ming Zhou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Animal Science and Technology College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
Interests: epidemiology; pathogenesis and new vaccine development for rabies and other zoonotic diseases and pet diseases
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Susan M. Moore

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (VMDL), University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
Interests: rabies diagnostics; rabies vaccines and biologics; clinical laboratory test development/validation and quality assurance; emerging infectious diseases

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue, titled "Advances in Rabies Vaccination." Rabies remains one of the most lethal zoonotic diseases, causing an estimated 59,000 human deaths annually. Recent advancements in reverse genetics, structural vaccinology, mRNA vaccine platforms, and monoclonal antibody cocktails are reshaping our arsenal against the rabies virus and other lyssaviruses. Additionally, novel biologics for post-exposure prophylaxis, thermostable oral vaccines for wildlife reservoirs, and machine-learning-assisted risk assessment tools are extending protection to previously unreachable populations.

Aligned with the scope of the journal Vaccines, this Special Issue will cover immunology, next-generation vaccine design, adjuvant and delivery innovations, immunization strategies, epidemiological modeling, and regulatory considerations. Our goal is to assemble original research and reviews that together provide a comprehensive overview of current progress and future directions in rabies prevention and control.

Research areas of interest include the following:

- Immunological processes associated with rabies vaccines and correlates of protection;

- Rabies vaccine platforms (mRNA, recombinant, adjuvanted vaccines, etc.);

- Therapeutic monoclonal antibodies and passive immunization;

- Thermostable and oral baits for wildlife and dog vaccination campaigns;

- Studies on rabies transmission dynamics and vaccine coverage;

- Optimization of post-exposure prophylaxis in resource-limited settings;

- Innovative delivery systems (thermostable vaccines, oral baits, microneedle patches).

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Ye Feng
Dr. Ming Zhou
Dr. Susan M. Moore
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Vaccines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • rabies immunity
  • rabies vaccines
  • immunological mechanisms
  • correlates of protection
  • monoclonal antibodies
  • oral vaccination
  • vaccine delivery systems
  • post-exposure prophylaxis

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 951 KB  
Article
A Novel, Safe, Non-Adjuvanted Alphavirus RNA Particle Vaccine Expressing the Rabies Virus Glycoprotein Induces a Three-Year Duration of Immunity in Dogs and Cats After a Single Vaccine Dose
by Ken Stachura, Randall Davis, Kari Carritt, Mark Mogler, Zach Xu and Ian Tarpey
Vaccines 2025, 13(12), 1176; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines13121176 - 21 Nov 2025
Viewed by 778
Abstract
Background/Objectives: To this day, rabies remains a significant global threat. This threat remains even with the availability of vaccines for humans, wildlife, and domestic animals, which are used as part of a series of interventions to attempt to control the infection and disease. [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: To this day, rabies remains a significant global threat. This threat remains even with the availability of vaccines for humans, wildlife, and domestic animals, which are used as part of a series of interventions to attempt to control the infection and disease. The number of annual human deaths from rabies globally remains significant, with infections being mainly caused by domestic dogs. Although a number of vaccines exist for domestic animals, most contain inactivated rabies virus with adjuvants. Methods: To investigate alternatives to conventional rabies vaccines for dogs and cats, we developed a novel, non-adjuvanted, low-volume (0.5 mL) vaccine, based on the Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) TC-83-derived RNA particle (RP) expressing the rabies glycoprotein (G). This novel vaccine combines the safety profile of a non-adjuvanted vaccine while inducing consistently high efficacy and an extended duration of immunity similar to that shown by adjuvanted vaccines. Results: In multiple studies, we demonstrated that young kittens and puppies can be safely vaccinated without serious adverse effects. In graded dose experiments with cats and dogs, the RNA particle vaccine induced neutralizing levels of antibodies. Additionally, in vaccination/challenge studies, 100% protection from virulent rabies was demonstrated in excess of three years post-vaccination from a single dose at 12 weeks of age in both dogs and cats. The safety of the RP-Rabies vaccine in dogs and cats as young as twelve weeks of age was demonstrated in field safety studies using two vaccine serials formulated at a field dose. Conclusions: Data from these studies suggest that the RP-Rabies vaccine offers an excellent alternative to current vaccines combining the safety of a non-adjuvanted vaccine in a low-volume, single dose with the induction of an extended duration of immunity of at least three years in both dogs and cats. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Rabies Vaccination)
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15 pages, 3690 KB  
Article
Production Optimization, Adjuvant Screening and Immunogenicity Evaluation of a Virus-like Vesicle Rabies Vaccine
by Xiaoyu Zhang, Xin Liu, Ying Wu, Zhenfang Fu, Ling Zhao and Ming Zhou
Vaccines 2025, 13(11), 1122; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines13111122 - 31 Oct 2025
Viewed by 745
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Rabies is a fatal zoonotic disease caused by the rabies virus (RABV), and effective therapeutic treatments are currently lacking. Vaccination remains the primary strategy for rabies control. The Semliki Forest virus-rabies virus glycoprotein (SFV-RVG), a virus-like vesicle rabies vaccine combining Semliki [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Rabies is a fatal zoonotic disease caused by the rabies virus (RABV), and effective therapeutic treatments are currently lacking. Vaccination remains the primary strategy for rabies control. The Semliki Forest virus-rabies virus glycoprotein (SFV-RVG), a virus-like vesicle rabies vaccine combining Semliki Forest virus replicase and rabies glycoprotein, has shown potential as a promising vaccine candidate. This study aimed to optimize the production of SFV-RVG and evaluate adjuvant formulations to improve its immunogenicity in both mice and dogs. Methods: SFV-RVG production was optimized by determining the optimal multiplicity of infection (MOI) at 0.03 and cell density at 1 × 106–1.3 × 106 cells/mL, followed by scaling up the process in bioreactors. Eleven adjuvant formulations were tested in mice and dogs to assess their effects on immunogenicity. Cytokine analysis and antibody responses were measured, including IFN-γ, IL-4, IgG2a/IgG1 ratios, and neutralizing antibody titers. Results: The optimized SFV-RVG production was successfully scaled up, and M103 adjuvant induced rapid early antibody titers in mice. In dogs, GEL02 led to the highest neutralizing antibody levels, exceeding 40 IU/mL by 28 days post-immunization. Cytokine analysis indicated that both M103 and GEL02 significantly enhanced IFN-γ and IL-4 expression, balancing the Th1/Th2 immune response. SFV-RVG with GEL02 demonstrated stronger immunogenicity than a commercial vaccine, and challenge studies confirmed robust protection against lethal RABV in mice. Conclusions: This study establishes GEL02 as a superior adjuvant for rabies vaccines and provides a scalable SFV-RVG production process. These findings highlight SFV-RVG with GEL02 as a promising rabies vaccine candidate for dogs, offering significant potential for rabies control. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Rabies Vaccination)
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