Efficacy of herpes vaccine and acyclovir (ACV) in a rabbit model following intraocular inoculation of herpes simplex virus.

It has been shown that injection of herpes simplex virus (HSV) type I into the vitreous body of the eye in 18-day-old albino rabbits consistently induced encephalitis. In the untreated group the lesions followed a defined anatomical pathway in the central nervous system and produced a chronic progressive disease with 95% survival. Detailed observations in the spread of HSV along the optic pathway determined the extent of damage at any given day. Some of the old rabbits developed typical herpetic lesions on nose and lips. HSV was demonstrated from these lesions by electron microscopy and also by tissue culture isolation. The combined efficacy of heat-killed herpes vaccine prepared from the same isolate and acyclovir (ACV) in this animal model was studied by starting treatment four days before or four days after the challenge. Ten animals immunised before the challenge were protected. However, immunisation after the challenge not only did not confer protection, but surprisingly, appeared to enhance the primary disease. All 10 rabbits immunised after the challenge developed weakness of the hind legs and progressed very rapidly to paralysis. ACV treatment alone did not completely abrogate the HSV infection, there appears to be reactivation of HSV which produced fresh small lesions. However, a combination of immunisation and treatment with ACV after the challenge of the 10 rabbits in the group prevented the development of weakness of the hind legs or paralysis. Detailed observations on the spread of HSV along the optic pathway revealed that pathological lesions and damage were limited in the ACV and combined treatment with ACV and vaccine group.