KSU researcher receives grant for ASF vaccine research
MANHATTAN, KAN. – The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) recently awarded a $1 million Seeding Solution grant to Kansas State University to develop rapidly deployable vaccines for African Swine Fever (ASF).
After the announcement, Elanco Animal Health, Kansas State University Innovation Partners and MEDIAN Diagnostics Inc., provided a matching fund that made up a total investment of more than $2.64 million.
FFAR emphasized that without a preventive vaccine or treatment, pork producers’ only control option would be enhancing biosecurity, increasing surveillance and quarantining or culling infected pigs.
“Should the virus reach the US, outputs from this research could slow the virus’ spread, protect millions of US pigs and safeguard our food supply,” said Jasmine Bruno, scientific program director for FFAR.
Although ASF has still not been discovered in the United States there have been recent detections in the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
“Producers need a way to protect their herds, as losses would be staggering not only for the pork industry, but also for other agriculture commodities that support the industry, like corn and soy,” FFAR said.
At KSU, Waithaka Mwangi, PhD, immunology professor in the Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary, is continuing to develop and validate a vaccine that could protect pigs from the virus.
The research includes identifying which ASF proteins induce a protective immune response, the optimal dose needed for pigs, the most effective immunization platform, and a way to differentiate infected from vaccinated pigs. The research team is also addressing production constraints and safety concerns that would allow regulatory agencies to approve the vaccine.
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