Merial’s Canarypox Vaccine is the Choice for Outbreak
West Nile virus in Morocco – From Request toVaccination in 10 Days Across Three Continents
 
Duluth, GA. – February 17, 2011 – It has been 25 years since scientists took the first steps towards realizing the potential of poxviruses for the benefit of animal health. The re-emergence of West Nile virus (WNV) in horses in Morocco in the summer of 2010 is just the latest example of how Merial’s canarypox-vectored vaccines are in demand when outbreaks threaten.
 
Following the start of the Moroccan WNV outbreak in July 2010, Professor Juergen Richt, Director of the DHS Center of Excellence for Emerging and Zoonotic Animal Diseases (CEEZAD) in Kansas, was asked by the Moroccan veterinarian authorities to advise them on vaccine options. “When I was approached as the Director of CEEZAD to help the Moroccan authorities to obtain an emergency West Nile Virus vaccine,” he said. “I could only recommend two licensed vector-based WNV vaccines; one of them was the RECOMBITEK¨ rWNV vaccine from Merial.  I was very happy to learn that Merial was able to supply the product without red tape to help the Moroccan authorities save their valuable horses.”

“Merial was pleased to be able to respond so quickly to a serious disease outbreak that potentially threatened the horse population in Morocco,” said Frank Hurtig, DVM, MS, Director of Merial’s Large Animal Veterinary Services. “Utilized in the United States since 2004, RECOMBITEK rWNV has been a valuable tool as an aid in the prevention of disease, viremia and encephalitis caused by WNV.2 Its use in Morocco further demonstrates its value in protecting horses from the ravages of a potentially deadly disease.”

In addition, RECOMBITEK is the only vaccine currently on the market that provides advanced technology to help prevent WNV.2 “Some of today’s vaccines use technology that targets the parts of a virus needed to stimulate both a humoral and cell-mediated antibody response in horses, while other vaccines only stimulate humoral immunity,” says Dr. Hurtig. “RECOMBITEK Brand Equine Vaccines use recombinant canarypox-vectored vaccine technology to stimulate both sides of the immune system that helps protect horses against WNV.”

Merial gained registration for its recombinant canarypox WNV vaccine, RECOMBITEK¨ rWNV, in the United States seven years ago. However, getting access to Merial’s U.S. stocks and shipping to Morocco might have been delayed while the necessary international regulatory permissions were obtained. In fact, with Merial teams in Lyon and the United States also getting involved, it took only 10 days.  MCI SantŽ Animale, Merial’s Moroccan distributor, submitted an urgent vaccine request on Monday, August 23 – and the 5,000 dose shipment of RECOMBITEK rWNV arrived at Rabat via Air France on September 1. At-risk horses in state premises, including royal stallions, were being vaccinated soon after and they have now received the second of the two vaccination series.
Merial Head of Global Equine, Silke Birlenbach, said, “When the call came from Morocco to help deal with their West Nile Virus outbreak, we pulled out the stops and got on with it. Merial and its canarypox technology have proven their value to the equine world several times over. Already Morocco has ordered an additional 5,000 doses of RECOMBITEK rWNV to protect horses in the future