The U.S. Department of Agricultures Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is making headway in the development of an African Swine Fever (ASF) virus vaccine. A vaccine candidate has now been adapted to grow in a cell line. Senior ARS scientist Dr. Manuel Borca said that the discovery is an important step in the process. Working with a cell line is helpful for making the set toward large-scale production. Researchers will no longer be dependent upon live pigs and their fresh cells.<\/p>\n
Traditionally we used freshly isolated swine cells to produce vaccine candidates and this constitutes a significant limitation for large-scale production senior ARS scientist Dr. Douglas Gladue said in a press release. But now we can retain the vaccine characteristics while simultaneously replicating the vaccine in lab-grown cell cultures. We no longer have to rely on gathering fresh cells from live swine.<\/p>\n
Growing the vaccine candidate will address one of the major obstacles for large-scale production. The recent discovery was published in the Journal of Virology. Tests of the continuous cell line vaccine candidate determined it to be safe when used in a commercial breed of pigs. No negative effects were recorded, and the pigs were protected against ASF. The vaccine grown in a continuous cell line contained all the same characteristics as the one produced using fresh swine cells.<\/p>\n
While there have not been any outbreaks of ASF in the U.S., the virus has resulted in several deadly outbreaks in areas of Eastern Europe and Asia. If a domestic outbreak were to occur, it is estimated that it could cost more than $14 billion over a period of two years, and $50 billion over a decade. The virus does not pose a threat to human health, but outbreaks have led to substantial losses and pork shortages on a global scale.<\/p>\n
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Progress Made in ASF Vaccine Development - Southeast AgNet<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The U.S. Continue reading