# Human safety of SPBN GASGAS for oral rabies vaccination of dogs

**Authors:** Gowri Yale, Conrad Freuling, Andrew Gibson, Amila Gunesekera, Thomas Müller, Ryan Wallace, Ad Vos

PMC · DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0013866 · PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases · 2026-01-12

## TL;DR

This study assesses the human safety of SPBN GASGAS, an oral rabies vaccine for dogs, and finds it to be safe despite occasional human contact.

## Contribution

The paper provides a risk assessment of SPBN GASGAS for human safety, focusing on its vaccine virus construct.

## Key findings

- Human contact with the vaccine virus occurs infrequently.
- The risk of serious adverse events in humans is negligible due to the vaccine's safety profile.

## Abstract

Oral rabies vaccination (ORV) of dogs has been suggested as a complementary tool to injectable rabies vaccination, to access free-roaming dogs during mass dog vaccination campaigns. Stringent safety requirements have been developed and implemented for ORVs targeting wildlife and dogs. Part of the safety requirements involves conducting a risk assessment of the potential for human contact with the vaccine virus and the impact on human health. The former is predominantly determined by the bait distribution method and the latter by the safety profile of the vaccine construct. This risk assessment is focused on a commercially available ORV for dogs, SPBN GASGAS. Overall, it is concluded that although human contacts with the vaccine virus do occur infrequently, the risk of serious adverse events in humans is negligible due to the safety profile of the vaccine virus construct.

## Linked entities

- **Diseases:** rabies (MONDO:0019173)

## Full-text entities

- **Diseases:** skin lesions (MESH:D012871), overdose (MESH:D062787), SCID (MESH:D016511), immune disorder (MESH:D007154), deaths (MESH:D003643), SAE (MESH:D064420), Rabies (MESH:D011818), infections (MESH:D007239), polio (MESH:D011051)
- **Chemicals:** water (MESH:D014867), ORV (-), GAG (MESH:D006025), Glutamic Acid (MESH:D018698)
- **Species:** Canis latrans (coyote, species) [taxon 9614], Homo sapiens (human, species) [taxon 9606], Mephitis mephitis (striped skunk, species) [taxon 30548], Rattus norvegicus (brown rat, species) [taxon 10116], Neogale vison (American mink, species) [taxon 452646], Bos taurus (bovine, species) [taxon 9913], Mustela putorius furo (black ferret, subspecies) [taxon 9669], Mus musculus (house mouse, species) [taxon 10090], Sus scrofa (pig, species) [taxon 9823], Procyon lotor (northern raccoon, species) [taxon 9654], Lyssavirus rabies (species) [taxon 11292], Pica pica (Common magpie, species) [taxon 34924], Felis catus (cat, species) [taxon 9685], Canis lupus familiaris (dog, subspecies) [taxon 9615], Pan troglodytes (chimpanzee, species) [taxon 9598], Nyctereutes procyonoides (raccoon dog, species) [taxon 34880], Vulpes vulpes (red fox, species) [taxon 9627], Cavia porcellus (domestic guinea pig, species) [taxon 10141], Orthopoxvirus vaccinia (species) [taxon 10245], Urocyon cinereoargenteus (gray fox, species) [taxon 55040]
- **Mutations:** Asparagine (AAT) to Serine (TCC)
- **Cell lines:** BHK21 Cl13 — Mesocricetus auratus (Golden hamster), Spontaneously immortalized cell line (CVCL_1915)

## Full text

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## Figures

1 figure with captions in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12795385/full.md

## References

44 references — full list in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12795385/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12795385