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Rabies occurs in more than 150 countries and territories, resulting in at least 55,000 human deaths per year worldwide according to World Health Organization estimates. Rabies is a vaccine-preventable viral disease caused by numerous lyssaviruses that are found in a variety of animal species throughout the world. Rabies virus infects the central nervous system, causing disease in the brain with almost 100% mortality once clinical symptoms manifest.

CDC researchers have identified and characterized discrete flavivirus cross-reactive epitopes useful for improving serodiagnosis and vaccination of flaviviruses, such as dengue virus, yellow fever virus, Japanese encephalitis virus, West Nile virus and the tick-borne encephalitis viruses.

CDC researchers have developed a bead-based nucleic acid assay for serotyping members of the Salmonella genus; this assay will identify serotypes for approximately 95% of all human-obtained Salmonella isolates in the United States.

This CDC-developed technology entails novel compositions and methods related to the diagnosis of Lyme disease. Lyme disease, caused by the Borrelia burgdorferi bacterium, is the most common tick-borne infectious disease in the US and Europe. Diagnosis of Lyme disease is particularly challenging as symptoms often appear long after exposure. At present, the only FDA-approved diagnostic for Lyme disease involves patient blood tests for particular antibodies; these include an ELISA to measure patient antibody levels and a Western blot assay to detect antibodies specific to B.

This invention, developed by the CDC and collaborators, entails a live, attenuated recombinant rabies virus vaccine that can elicit an effective anti-rabies immune response in animal recipients. Inoculation with a live, attenuated, rabies virus allows for the optimized production of immunity in the absence of pathogenicity. Oral administration of rabies vaccines is often a preferred route of vaccine delivery because it is most effective in wildlife. Unfortunately, availability of an oral vaccine for canines has been a significant hurdle to date.

Rift Valley fever (RVF) virus primarily infects animals but also has the capacity to infect humans. The disease causes abortion and death among RVF-infected livestock, resulting in substantial economic loss to people living in many parts of Africa and Arabian Peninsula. Currently, there is no commercial vaccine for RVF. CDC scientists have developed a RVF virus replicon particle (VRP) vaccine candidate.

This CDC developed collection device is a small (approximately 1 cubic foot) open-sided container that attracts mosquitoes seeking a daytime resting location. The container is dark-colored and constructed of molded wood-fiber or recycled, high-density plastic. Mosquitoes that enter the dark space of the container are aspirated through a battery-powered fan into a collection receptacle. The receptacle is especially attractive to Culex and Anopheles mosquitos' vectors of West Nile Virus and malaria parasites, respectively.

This CDC developed optimization technology allows one to characterize the behavior of the coefficient of variation (CV) for a range of mass spectrometer machine settings. Surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization (SELDI) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) are used for the early detection of numerous diseases, for example cervical cancer . A critical step in the analytical process is the optimization of experiment and machine settings to ensure the best possible reproducibility of results, as measured by the CV.

CDC researchers have developed a multiplexed diagnostic assay for sensitive detection and distinction between viral group members based on the presence/absence of infection-generated antibodies within a clinical serum sample. For example, this assay can be used for rapid discrimination of a clinical unknown as specifically a West Nile or St. Louis encephalitis viral infection. This is particularly beneficial as these two viruses are typically difficult to distinguish by standard serological assays.

This new technique uses microsphere/microbead-based flow-analysis as a platform.

A quantitative RT-PCR-based assay has been developed to rapidly detect all known strains of Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV). RVFV infections occur in both humans and livestock animals resulting in significant mortality and economic loss. Upon outbreak, RVFV has been known to cause devastating loss among livestock (primarily sheep and cattle) with outbreaks characterized by sweeping "abortion storms" and elevation newborn animal mortality approaching 100% in affected areas. The CDC-developed assay is capable of detecting and quantifying RVFV infection in both human and veterinary samples.