Immunogenicity, safety, and protective efficacy of an inactivated SARS-associated coronavirus vaccine in rhesus monkeys

An inactivated vaccine for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) was evaluated in rhesus monkeys. The monkeys were inoculated intramuscularly (i.m.) with 0.5, 5, 50, or 5000 μg of vaccine, or PBS as control, and boosted on day 7. After 3 weeks, they were challenged with the NS-1 strain of SARS-CoV. The humoral and mucosal immune responses, clinical signs, chemical indices and viremia were monitored following the immunization and challenge. The control animals who received PBS developed atypical SAR-CoV infection after viral challenge, according to clinical, virological and pathological findings. No systematic side effects were observed in vaccinated animals post-immunization, even in at the high dose of 5000 μg. The 50 μg dosage of vaccine elicited SARS-CoV specific immune responses against viral infection as compared to the partial immunity elicited by 0.5 and 5 μg doses. The results show that this inactivated vaccine can induce effective concomitant humoral and mucosal immunity against SARS-CoV infection, is safe in monkeys, and the vaccine maybe a good candidate for clinical trials.