In a major breakthrough, scientists affiliated to the Agricultural Research Service of the USDA announced the development of a vaccine to protect hogs from African swine fever (ASF). This infection has caused serious disruption on hog industries in Asia and Eastern Europe since the emergence of the infection in the nation of Georgia in mid-2007.
To date the research group located at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center have developed and patented five experimental vaccines and have entered into license agreements with biologics manufacturers. The latest vaccine provides moderate protection two weeks after administration and full protection within four weeks and is effective against challenge with European and Asian strains of ASF virus.
The vaccine will be evaluated under commercial conditions in Vietnam through a contractual relationship with Navetco National Veterinary Joint Stock Company, since proof of efficacy will depend on field exposure. An effective and safe ASF vaccine is critical to the eventual control of the infection that is now endemic in most nations of Asia, parts of the Russian Federation and contiguous eastern European nations, affecting commercial, subsistence and feral hogs. The most recent outbreak in the Caribbean points to the urgency of a vaccine to protect herds in North and South America.
Approval of the vaccine by the USDA and presumably other national agencies will depend on submission of statistically evaluated results of field trials that confirm both safety and efficacy. This will be followed by large-scale production by licensed multinational manufacturers of biologics with a vaccine ready for deployment during mid-2022.