Breaking the Link Between Roseolovirus albuquerquii

and the People of New Mexico

By: Parnia Behinaein, Rachel Bowen, Soohyun Oh, Nathaniel Shearer, and Chelsea Vargas

Introduction
The emerging disease that claimed the lives of a number of New Mexico residents has been
described by a team of CDC investigators. The disease is a form of acute viral encephalitis called
Doyle Viral Encephalitis (DVE). As of now, the cornerstones of the disease have been mapped
out. The pathogen that causes DVE is Roseolovirus albuquerquii. The insect vector of the disease
is Triatoma recurva and the natural reservoir is the squirrel. The CDC team has decided that
breaking the link between the susceptible human hosts and the disease agent should be done first.
This is because DVE has a 99% mortality rate and is vectored by a flying insect. Breaking the
other links would be too slow to do and the disease could spread more in the elapsed time. This
said, T. recurva is a sylvatic species and to break the link between the susceptible hosts and vector
would require the public to be well informed and ready to take action. This is a problem because
realistically, not every person will act. The disease is in its primacy and a vaccination would be a
direct government intervention that would break the desired link quickly to keep the outbreak as
small as possible.

Protocol
Viral vaccines protect people from disease by eliciting an immune response. The immune
system remembers how to deal with the antigen in the vaccine so if the person is subsequently
infected by the virus, they should be fine. There are three types of viral vaccines. These types are
subunit, killed and live-attenuated. The most effective one is the latter. Live-attenuated vaccines
are made by preparing an abundant supply of cell media. A cheap supply of cells can come from
embryonated eggs. The cells will then be infected with Roseolovirus albuquerquii. The process of
attenuation is laid out in a review (McGhee et al.) that is beyond the scope of this paper. The
weakened virus would then be extracted from the egg medium. The attenuated virus can no longer
cause DVE. Lastly, the virus is made into a vaccine. It is diluted with sterile water while stabilizers
and preservatives extend shelf life. An adjuvant will be added to increase the level of immune
response to the vaccine for greater effect. The vaccine is then placed into syringes and packaged
for shipping.
The act of physically assembling the vaccination is a completely different process than
composing the vaccination on the molecular level. The technologies involved will have an impact
on the cost of the vaccination and its availability. According to Smith, Reliable vaccine
production in appropriate quantities and at affordable prices is the cornerstone of developing global
vaccination policies. This requires collaboration between public health services as well as private

manufacturers and distributors. Specifically, the production of a live-attenuated vaccine for Doyle
viral encephalitis can be attained with low costs at a high capacity. The main manufacturing-related
challenge of a vaccination of this type is retaining stability and viability during production and
blending strains of the live-attenuated virus. Production of this vaccine should occur about 6 to 9
months prior to the start of distribution. As Doyle viral encephalitis is most prevalent in the late
summer months, the distribution of the vaccination should occur from approximately March to
July.
While a primary series of vaccinations is required for infants and throughout childhood,
the vaccination for Doyle viral encephalitis will be developed and recommended for adolescent
and adult populations in Arizona and surrounding states. In order for distribution to occur, access
to the vaccine is usually ordered by a physician, or provider, from private manufacturers or
distributors. Based on the daily administration rate, each provider is given a daily demand, and
orders according to this figure on a weekly basis. It is important to note that Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) assigns vaccinations to each state according to their population
needs. Although the CDC and Department of Health and Human Services work to increase
production capacity and improve stability of vaccines, these services do not have the ability to
control distribution.

Conclusion
Vaccination will effectively break the link between the pathogen and susceptible host if
implemented correctly. Whenever government agencies force people to get vaccinated, there will
be backlash from a number of groups of people. When people realize how deadly DVE is with its
high mortality rate, much persuasion wont be needed to win them over to accept the vaccine. The
CDC will track any new cases of the disease to see where the DVE vaccine needs, if at all, to be
spread. Also, tabs will be kept of the Roseolovirus albuquerquii in the wild squirrel population to
make sure that the virus did not mutate and that the vaccine is still up to date. Once the people are
out of harms way via vaccination, other steps can be taken to try to start eradicating the disease
altogether.

Sources
CDC. "Vaccines." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, 30 Mar. 2016. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.
FDA. Guidance for Industry: Characterization and Qualification of Cell Substrates and Other
Biological Materials Used in the Production of Viral Vaccines for Infectious Disease
Indications. Food and Drug Administration, 2 Mar. 2010.
McGhee, Jerry R., et al. "The mucosal immune system: from fundamental concepts to vaccine
development." Vaccine 10.2 (1992): 75-88.
Smith, Jon, Marc Lipsitch, and Jeffrey W. Almond. "Vaccine Production, Distribution, Access
and Uptake." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of
Medicine, n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.