The invention concerns a method for producing a mammal belonging to a non-human species made resistant by germinal transgenesis to an alpha-herpes virus mediated infection, for which the HveC or nectin-1 polypeptide constitutes a functional receptor. The method consists in introducing by insertion or homologous recombination into the genome of the cells constituting the mammal's germinal line, a transgene enabling expression of a chimeric protein consisting of an extracellular domain of nectin-1 or HveC or one of its parts and an immunoglobulin crystallzable fragment, in a suitable expression system.