Infectious DNA as a vaccine against west nile and other flaviviruses
A vaccine for West Nile virus that protects a subject against West Nile infection comprising an a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and a therapeutically effective dose of an infectious agent selected from the group consisting of: a live attenuated infectious (+) RNA virus designated as WN1415, a vector comprising infectious DNA encoding an infectious (+) RNA molecule encoding the West Nile virus, and the West Nile (+) RNA virus designated as WN956D117B3 (GenBank #M12294).
1. A live attenuated homogeneous viral population comprising the WN 1415 (+) RNA virus.
2. A vector comprising DNA encoding infectious (+) RNA molecule encoding the West Nile virus under the control of an eukaryotic promoter, wherein the West Nile virus DNA contains a single intron which is located upstream from the prM signal sequence occurring as the first stretch of hydrophobic amino acids in the WN polyprotein.
3. The vector of claim 2 , which comprises SEQ ID NO:1 containing a single intron at position 357.
4. The vector of claim 2 , which is a plasmid.
5. The vector of claim 2 , wherein the promoter is a cytomegalovirus promoter.
6. The vector of claim 2 designated as pCMVWN.
7. A cell transformed with the vector of claim 2 .
8. A vaccine for West Nile virus that protects a subject against West Nile infection comprising a therapeutically effective dose of the virus population of claim 1 .
9. The vaccine of claim 8 , further comprising a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
10. The vaccine of claim 8 , wherein the subject is selected from the group consisting of mice, cows, pigs, horses, chickens, cats, and dogs.
11. A method for immunizing a mammal against a West Nile virus comprising the step of administering to the mammal the vaccine of claim 9 .
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein said administering step is performed intracerebrally, intramuscularly, or intradermally.
13. The method of claim 11 , where in the mammal is selected from the group consisting of mice, cows, pigs, horses, chickens, cats, and dogs.
14. A vaccine for West Nile virus that protects a subject against West Nile infection comprising a therapeutically effective dose of the vector of claim 2 .
15. The vaccine of claim 14 , further comprising a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
16. The vaccine of claim 14 , wherein the subject is selected from the group consisting of mice, cows, pigs, horses, chickens, cats, and dogs.
17. A method for immunizing a mammal against a West Nile virus comprising the step of administering to the mammal the vaccine of claim 15 .
18. The method of claim 17 , wherein said administering step is performed intracerebrally, intramuscularly, or intradermally.
19. The method of claim 17 , where in the mammal is selected from the group consisting of mice, cows, pigs, horses, chickens, cats, and dogs.