The present invention relates to vaccines containing enveloped viruses whose envelopes have been depleted of lipids using methyl β-cyclodextrin (MBCD). Delipidation of enveloped viruses in a two-step process abolishes the infectivity of those viruses, which allows delipidated viruses to be used safely in vaccines. Use of MBCD to deplete lipids such as cholesterol, in contrast to other methods, results in viruses with less than 20% of the cholesterol of an untreated virus but such delipidated viruses retain at least 85% of the protein content of an untreated virus. Delipidation by MBCD also preserves the immunogenicity of the viral proteins. The present invention of using MBCD treatment in a two-step process to delipidate enveloped virus represents a new alternative for generation of inactivated viruses which are incorporated into effective vaccines.
