Viremia and the Magnitude of the Immune Response upon Infection of Green Monkeys with Dengue Virus Type 2 Are Strain-Dependent

Testing in non-human primates is a generally accepted necessary step preceding the evaluation of dengue vaccine candidates in humans. A reduction of viremia in these animals after virus challenge is generally used as an indicator of vaccine efficacy. In this work, we compared the infectivity of three strains of dengue virus type 2 in a non-human primate model of dengue infection, with the aim of selecting a virus for vaccine protection studies. As a result, strain SB8553 produced the longest duration of viremia, with a mean of 3 days/animal. In addition, it induced the highest antiviral and neutralizing antibody titers. These results support the use of strain SB8553 in challenge assays in this model and demonstrate that infection of green monkeys with dengue virus type 2 is dependent on the strain of virus used.