Freeze-dried vaccine against Rinderpest: stability and activity study.

A freeze-dried vaccine against Rinderpest was prepared from modified virus multiplied in calf kidney cell culture. Characteristics of the vaccine are as follows: high titre after freeze-drying (10(4) CCID50/dose), well-adapted freeze-drying stabilizer which ensures maintenance of the infective titre of the vaccinal virus, even under severe conditions (3.5 days at +45 degrees C), use of an appropriate solvent: magnesium sulphate molar solution or more simply physiological saline (for stability after reconstitution even at high temperatures--up to 4 h at +45 degrees C). The activity of the vaccine, tested in cattle by antibody titration and resistance to specific challenge perfectly satisfies requirements set by the WHO and OIE.