Clinical trials in pigs are underway at the Pirbright Institute for a vaccine candidate for African swine fever (ASF).
Developed in partnership between the Institute and The Vaccine Group (TVG), vaccinated pigs will be challenged using a virulent ASF virus strain in a model developed recently at Pirbright to mimic natural routes of infection.
Dr Chris Netherton, who leads the African Swine Fever Vaccinology group at Pirbright, said the trials offer exciting potential for vaccine development. He said the outcome of the study will be published ‘as soon as possible’.
Over the past 15 years ASF has developed into an epidemic affecting pig producers globally. It is present in large parts of Eastern, Central and Southern Europe, posing a real threat to UK producers. It has created huge problems in China and other Asian countries over the past six years, and in 2021 was reported in the Dominican Republic and later in Haiti.
“This massive geographical expansion makes ASF a truly global issue and the risk of further dissemination into disease-free areas is considered high,” Dr Netherton added.
TVG has been working in collaboration with world experts at Pirbright for more than six years to develop an ASF vaccine for the improved control of this global ASF epidemic.
“The vaccine delivers several antigenic proteins derived from the ASF virus and is inherently compatible with a DIVA approach to diagnostics and surveillance,” said Dr Jeremy Salt, CEO of TVG.
DIVA (‘differentiating infected from vaccinated animals’) or marker vaccines induce an immune response different from that induced by natural infection. Diagnostic testing allows the loosening of restrictions for vaccinated animals, reducing the economic impact on rural economies.
“The development of an effective vaccine has enormous value from an animal welfare, food security and commercial perspective.
“There is no widely available vaccine against ASF even for the genotype II that is the cause of the current global epidemic. Recent limited introductions of a live attenuated vaccine in south east Asia have been associated with some safety concerns, an issue that TVG’s vaccine would address.”
The Institute was awarded an Industry Partnership Award by UKRI BBSRC last year to work with TVG on a bovine herpesvirus-vectored vaccine against ASF.