PURIFIED SUBFRAGMENT CODIFYING FOR NEUROAMINIDASE, RECOMBINANT NEUROAMINIDASE AND ITS USE IN ZOOPROPHYLAXIS
Within the prophylaxis strategies for the control of type A avian influenza caused by viral infection with specific epidemic strain H7N1, a vaccination process is envisaged comprising the preparation of a heterologous vaccine that is administered to an animal population, said vaccine featuring the same subtype of viral haemoagglutinin HA7 and a different subtype of neuroaminidase NA3, and thereafter detecting the viralinfection positiveness by contacting an antigen with at least one genomic sequence that codes for a neuroaminidase NA1 protein with the biological fluids collected from the animals. By subsequently revealing an antigen-antibody reaction by means of a test for detecting positiveness (iIFA, ELISA among others), the vaccinated animals can be discriminated from the other ones. The recombinant antigen is represented by the recombinant glycoprotein neuroaminidase NA1, the genomic sequence of which is carried by a baculovirus and expressed in insect cell.