African Swine Fever vaccine shows promise
A vaccine against African Swine Fever has taken another step towards approval by authorities in the United States.
If it continues to jump through regulatory hoops, it could first be used in Vietnam.
The latest results in a series of safety studies show that the vaccine candidate does not revert to its normal virulence after being injected into swine, “a critical milestone,” according to an Agriculture Research Service news release.
The vaccine – known as ASFV-G-DI177L – will undergo additional testing, but the latest results move the candidate a step closer to commercial availability, the news release said.
Current plans call for testing in Vietnam and other countries, but eventually the vaccine will require approval from animal health officials within individual countries that request its use to address ASF contagion among their hogs.
The highly contagious virus spread from Africa to the Republic of Georgia in 2007, and has since spread through Central Europe and Asia. It reached the Dominican Republic in July 2021, but has not reached Canadian or U.S. shores so far.
It wiped out more than half of China’s pigs over the last five years and production only recently returned to normal.
